Sapphire Shadows
by SapphireStormAngel
Summary: Kakashi has hated himself all his life for loosing the person most dear to him. When she is found again trying to steal the secret scroll of techniques from the Hokage's tower, and with no previous memories, will Kakashi manage to remind her what's really important or will he be too late?
1. Chapter 1-The Storm is coming

A gentle breeze wafted between the vast range greens adorning the spring leaves that decorated every single tree in the lively forest. Small blossoms appeared here and there signifying the end of the cold, merciless winter. Sunlight beams fell between the small gaps in the lush foliage and brightened the darkness beneath only aiding to wake up the life that was hiding in the ancient trees. One tree stood out from the rest. It's enormous branches covered a vast area area of the ground and it was a favourite spot of rest for many animals especially birds which could hide from the bright sunlight in the cool shade. It was like the guardian of the forest, silent and always on watch.  
Today however something else was residing in it's branches, the light bouncing off soft waves of gold slightly leaning out between the bright greenery. That was the first feature that could be noticed, the rest was carefully hidden away from sight. Unless someone were to know what they were looking for, they would never find it. Bright blue eyes peeked out from behind a black mask covering the remainder of the stranger's face. The long hair and lean body could only belong to a female though the tight body wrappings hid anything else that might have been a give away sign. The wrappings stretched from her chest to her waist, also appearing tightly bound on her right thigh. If it wasn't for the graceful way that she moved one might even suppose that the bandages hid deep wounds. The rest of her body was hidden by short trousers ending mid thigh. Despite her apparently defenceless choice of clothing a trained eye could see the danger that she posed. A small pouch was located at her waist and a small bulge could be seen under the wrappings on her thigh. She wasn't one to be underestimated if her opponent wanted to win.

Her sapphire orbs looked into the distance, far beyond the forest before her. From her perspective she could see the small village that snuggled into a close by cliff, colorful buildings peeking out here and there. The village was surrounded by a tall wall that looked like they've seen better days, while 4 large faces were overlooking it from the cliffside watching out for intruders. Children could be seen freely playing within those walls, while their parents focused their attention towards the thousands of colourful stalls that littered the main road. Had the woman been an ally she would have had to trouble at all walking through the main gate, however that was not the case and the ninja hounds would be on her within a second, especially with the enormous bounty on her head. She needed to find another method of breaking in.

Her particular interest was peaked at the two guards currently stationed at the large wooden gate in the front of the village. The weeks she spent watching those two had given her a vast array of information that she could use. Their favourite past time seemed to be sleeping on the job, though that didn't surprise her much since Konahoa wasn't exactly the centre of the trading routes, but she knew that they would be tough opponents to beat especially if they worked together. She had to capture them unaware first.

Jumping down from branch to branch, she eventually reached the soft grass surrounding the enormous pine of the tree she hid in. Like with the trees, flowers could also be found peeping out of the lush grass encouraging her to approach them and simply bask in their glory. Under other circumstances she would have gladly done just that, escaping the harsh reality that followed her. The world was how it was though, and she could not afford to waste any more time in the area. Sooner or later she would be spotted and she would rather stick to her current plan than have to scrap it and go with the flow. It was just not how she did things. Making use of her chakra, she created a clone of herself, watching carefully as it ran off towards the main gate. She would be recognised by the guards but then again it wasn't her that would be fighting. It was a tactic that she had used many times previously on other villages and it had never failed her.

All that was left was the last part of the plan, something to convince them that she would be attacking the main gate. To help convince them that her clone was really her. Forming the correct hand signs, she watched as dark clouds rolled out from seemingly nowhere. Bright flashes of lightning surrounded the village, illuminating the terrified gazes of the villagers, their children hiding in houses and behind their parents. They had been through things like this often enough and knew when they were being attacked. They were ready to fight, but so was she.

Kakashi Hatake was a skilled ninja, no one could deny him that, however it was at times like these he wondered whether he was fit to be a sensei to kids like these. It seemed that his hand refused to leave his head in a continuous facepalm, the exasperation he felt exceeding everything he had experienced ever before. The three genin he was currently testing still hadn't figured out the very point of the exercise despite the fact that it was in the name Team 7. Eventually he decided that the next generation had really dumbed down when it came to ninjas.

The hyperactive blonde had attacked him straight on, and although he had some surprising abilities like the 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' he was absolutely pathetic at thinking of a plan and prefered to do everything himself. It was funny to watch him struggle out of a trap only to fall straight into another one, but he crossed the line when he tried to eat his lunch before the task even finished. He was currently tied to one of the wooden poles in the clearing. The pink haired girl was no better. Her fascination with the third member of the team led to her constant stumbling, and despite her great knowledge a simple genjutsu was all it took to bring her down. The dark haired Uchiha was the most skilled on the team with a great knowledge of jutsu and taijutsu but his pride and overconfidence would not allow him to grow in the way that he should. It ended with him stuck in the ground helpless. All in all their situation would have been comical to him had it not affected the rest of their lives.

A small ring ran through the area signifying the end of the challenge, with none of the genin getting a single bell. Sighing with relief Kakashi stretched and walked back towards the KIA stone. Sasuke and Sakura were already there while Naruto was still tied to the pole. Naruto was eying the lunches, Sakura was staring at Sasuke while Sasuke just sat there silently brooding. They had no idea what was in store for the and if they never learned to work in a team then they would not survive this life

"Judging on your performance today I decided not to send you back to the academy."

The mood on the clearing instantly changed. the genin looked up at me surprised, and Naruto started cheering tears pooling out of his eyes. Sasuke smirked in pride and Sakura seemed to be the only one who thought to question his decision. She was after all the brains of the team.

"But all I did was faint. Do you get points for that?"

"Yeah! I'm going to be a ninja!"

"I have decided not to send you back to the academy, as I am completely removing you from the ninja program. All of you are failures and don't deserve to be ninjas."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"You're all pathetic! None of you even considered what the point of this exercise was did you. Think! Why are we put in teams?"

"Gahh I don't know!"

Kakashi simply stared at them in disappointment until Sasuke finally pulled out a kunai and charged at me ignoring the warning calls of his team mates. The anger and fury was clearly displayed on his face for the entire world to didn't take much to stop him, his speed was nothing to the one that he had built up over the years he was a ninja. Within seconds Sasuke was pinned to the ground with Kakashi on top of him with the kunai on his throat. It seemed that the team miscalculated Kakashi's abilities, especially Sasuke who's eyes were full of hate and desperation.

"Hey you can't squash Sasuke like a bug!"

"Shut up!"

His grip around Sasuke tightened at Sakura's shouting. They just weren't getting the severity of the situation were they?

"The answer is teamwork, yet none of you even considered it! If the four of you had attacked me at the same time, then you might have had a chance at beating me and taking the bells. Sakura, all you cared about was your precious Sasuke, even though Naruto was right in front of you and needed your help. "Naruto, you have to do everything yourself. You didn't even consider asking the others for help, you just attacked me head on without even a strategy. Finally, you Sasuke, you were the worst. You consider yourself above everyone else and only saw the others as useless parts of the team that would slow you down."

"But there were only two bells! We couldn't all pass."

"I did that to pit you against each other, to see how well your teamwork would work under pressure. In a real mission, shinobi have to make tough decisions. For example, Sakura kill Naruto or Sasuke dies." She looked at me with a face full of indecision and horror. "In a real mission it's your lives at stake and you can't make mistakes"

They all looked away from him, and mulled over what I said. Sasuke was still scowling, while Sakura and Naruto looked close to tears. Kakashi got off Sasuke letting him walk back towards his team mates and sit down. He himself turned around and approached the KIA stone, eyes wandering to the names of his friends carved onto there. Two of the names belonged to his team mates, one to his old sensei and one to the only friend he really had. For all the hours he spent sitting here he never seemed to get closure. He had lost so much in his life already, and those kids didn't deserve the same fate. A fate they would get if they weren't prepared.

"What's that?"

"That Naruto is a stone reserved for special heroes."

"That's it then. I decided to get my name on that stone."

"No you don't Naruto you baka. That's theKIA stone for those who were killed in action."

Naruto suddenly looked solemn. The atmosphere dropped back to the miserable state, yet this time it was the stone that was at the centre of it. Four set of gazes watched the rock as if looking for answers. Both Sasuke and Naruto seemed to understand Kakashi's pain the most. Unlike Sakura they felt what it was like to grow up without family and all alone. What it feels like to lose the most precious people to you. Even the trees sang a solemn song pushed and pulled by the merciless wind, just as we all are by fate. Shaking from the trance the melody put him in; Kakashi stood up and looked at the three kids.

"I'm giving you three one more chance, but this time you only have an hour. You can all eat your lunches except Naruto. This is his punishment for trying to cheat. If you feed him you will automatically fail."

With that Kakashi jumped away into the forest. Stopping, he walked up a tree and settled down, his back facing the hard bark of the widespread Oak. From his vantage point he could see the three genin, arguing and talking. Eventually, both Sakura and Sasuke fed Naruto.  
A smile appeared on Kakashi's face; they reminded him so much of his old team. Naruto was just like Obito, always late and always cheerful, laughing at everyone and everything. Sakura was just like Rin, always fawning over the cool, mysterious guy that wouldn't give her the time of the day. Sasuke however was like a copy of the young Kakashi. Always quiet, refusing to work with others and always having to be at the top. It was like history was repeating itself. Kakashi just prayed that this time it wouldn't be the case. A face flashed before his eyes, those same big beautiful eyes, with the same kindness and warmth behind them. His heart clenched in pain at the thought of the last time he saw her, those stunning orbs narrowed in pain, begging for help which he could not give. He failed her. Shaking his head from those solemn thoughts, kakashi stood watched as the genin jumped at the sudden appearance of the dark clouds, knowing full well that they had been found were all shaking while Sasuke was clenching his fiststo try and stay composed.

"You broke the rules, you fed Naruto."

"You said we have to work together. The three of us are one."

"The three of you are one?! You...pass."

The sudden panic was quickly replaced by utter confusion at what he just said. They certainly weren't expecting a pass, more like life exile from being a ninja. Joy was peeking out on their face but they seemed to be holding it back, as if to make sure that I wasn't joking.

"You are the only team I trained that disobeyed me and helped their comrade. The others just followed orders and abandoned their friends. In the shinobi world, those who break rules are scum, but those who abandon friends are worse than scum."

Naruto started cheering uncontrollably, while Sasuke just smirked at my words. That boy is just too cocky for his own good. The thoughts on his new team however were suddenly side tracked, at the sudden fall in the temperature, and the dark blue clouds that surrounded them. Sakura started shaking again, but this time it was from the intense cold. Lightning flashes erupted all around the village illuminating everything eerily as if preventing them from escape.

"Eh…sensei? You can stop now. We learned our lesson. Believe it."

"That's not me."

Kakashi frowned. he could sense chakra emanating from the storm controlling it's size and severity. A storm that large could have been easily used to take out members of the village's guards and yet he could see that it's wasn't the case. It meant that the visitor either didn't mean them any harm or was after something else, and he was willing to bet his headband on the second one. At the same time he couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew the chakra. He wished that he had Neji's byakugan instead of his sharingan at that moment, it would have helped him greatly in identifying the familiar chakra. It wasn't just the chakra though. He's only seen one person using the jutsu except him and that was the person that created it, but she was long gone, probably even dead. It just didn't add up. Hope emanated from his heart and surged through his body but he just ignored it.

"I want you to head to the academy and stay there until I say so."

"But sensei…"

"No arguing. I'm going to see the hokage to find out what is going on. This isn't a normal storm."

Kakashi watched his team walking away with glum faces before teleporting to the Hokage's tower, hoping against hope that it was who I thought it was. It was stupid, but it was the only thing that he had left. Hope.


	2. Chapter 2-Hope

Kakashi knocked gently on the great wooden doors, entering once a soft 'enter' sounded from within. Upon walking into the room Kakashi noticed the other people already gathered within the small room. The group consisted of Kurenai, Asuma, Iruka, Anko and Guy, at the head of which sat the Hokage, his face weathered in worry. Kakashi nodded to them as he entered inviting them to continue with their conversations. From their behaviour and loud arguments between themselves it was clear that they had no idea what was going on either. The Hokage simply watched from his seat waiting for everyone to become silent again, but quickly intervened the moment the arguments started getting out of control. Asuma and Anko were glaring at each other kunai drawn while poor Iruk stood between them hopelessly trying to calm them down.

"Silence now! I will now have grown jounin fighting in my office over petty arguments while there is a threat to my village!"

Everyone hung their head, conversations silenced and kunai's put back where they belonged. The Hokage nodded in a pleased manner before sitting back down, waving his hand for the jounin facing him to start speaking.

"What's the situation?"

"The storm covered the entire village and the lightning it emits is currently disabling any escape or exit attempts. Who ever is doing it knows what they are doing, and their aim is to keep us within the village."

"But that makes no sense Iruka! If anyone were to attack this village surely they would want as many ninja gone before sealing off the village."

"Asuma's right. Some of our best ninja are currently within the village walls on break, and that includes the Anbu. Why would someone attack the village now?"

"Everyone please calm down. We can consider the motives once we know the full situation and eliminated the danger this culprit faces. Right now we need to know our enemy. Iruka if you could?"

"Of course Hokage. A phenomenon like this only happened once before and that was in Suna. Due to our strained relationships we weren't able to gather as much information as we wanted but we know some facts. The reports state that there was a frontal attack at the village gates by a single masked woman. We don't know specifically what skills this woman may have but we do know that she managed to keep off several Suna ninja including the Kazekage himself for several hours. After the confrontation concluded the woman was reported to exit the village and disappear."

"What was the point of her attack then? She didn't achieve anything."

"Actually she managed to achieve quite a lot. It seems that while the ninja were fighting, no one thought to keep and eye on the scrolls hidden within their vaults."

"She stole the scrolls? How?"

"We don't know. She may well have a partner that stole the scrolls while she created a distraction. Since what remained of the guards were quickly taken out they didn't see anything. What's most surprising though is that the scrolls were only missing for a month. They suddenly re-appeared in the Kazekage's bedroom while he was sleeping. Again no one saw anything."

"So what you are telling us that the culprits managed to get into the Kazekage tower and even his bedroom without anyone noticing anything?"

"Yes, and from what I gather about the conditions outside it seems that our scrolls are the next target for the thieves."

The murmurs in the room once again rose up into a clamour as arguments started up concerning their next move. Kurenai was arguing with Asuma on what would be the best reaction to these news, but despite their obvious attraction to each other they were both stubbornly defending their view. Kurenai was pushing for the first move by combing through the village and looking for the culprits, while Asuma argued that a strong defence is all they could do at this point, especially since one of the culprits would attempt to sneak into the tower. Anko wasn't joining in the actual argument, but by the bloodthirsty look on her face you could easily figure out just what she action she was considering. Kakashi just stood silently at the sidelines trying to connect the pieces of the puzzle and work out just who was attacking them. What was the use of stealing the scrolls if you are only going to return them? Once again it was the Hokage who calmed things out.

"Everyone please be quiet."

"Is there any details on the appearance of the culprits? I understand that the second person remained invisible to the guards but what about the woman? The ninja fighting her must have seen her."

"Yes there are details on her appearance Kakashi but once again not much. Her face was covered with a mask much like yours and she wore normal ninja gear. She seemed to be greatly skilled in both taijutsu and ninjutsu especially when using daggers. Since her entire body was covered any other details were obscured but one of the ninja reporting mentioned a woven bracelet on her hand."

"That's a bit of a weird detail to notice I wouldn't..."

Kakashi turned out at this moment, his heart hammering in his chest and obscuring his hearing. His body was a stiff as a board. An image appeared before his eyes, his gaze centering on the bracelet hung around her wrist. It sounded so much like her. He didn't want to get his hopes up but this time he couldn't help it. At the same time though his heart clenched in worry. If it really was her then why would she attack her own village? It just didn't make any sense to him. What was going on?

"…ashi! Kakashi! KAKASHI!"

The sudden shout in his ear accompanied by the shaking of his body quickly snapped him out of his turmoiled mind. Looking around in a daze for a minute he finally noticed the strange and worried looks that the rest of the occupants of the room were giving him. It seemed that he had managed to miss a chunky portion of the conversation which required his assistance. Guy was shouting something about getting back youthful energy, but Kakashi ignored him. He urgently needed to talk to the Hokage about his suspicions. Seeing the look on his face the Hokage nodded, inviting him to speak. Kakashi stood still for a minute before raising his hand.

"Did the bracelet look anything like this?"  
Looking at his arm the others noticed for the first time that a small woven bracelet was sitting on his wrist. It was black and made up of several thick pieces of leather woven together into an intricate design. A single charm hung off the front of the leather, carved into the shape of the Yang symbol, it's white half missing from the design. Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, it looked like that only the exact opposite, white with a Yin symbol on it. How did you know?"

"Because I know who attacked Suna and who is currently attacking us."

"What makes you think that?"

"The storm techniques that was used here is something that I've only seen one person do before. Unless she taught it to someone other than me then I doubt that anyone else came up with it on their own. Besides, the bracelet was the biggest clue. If it is who I suspect then her bracelet design will fit exactly into mine. The two were a set after all."

"Well who is it then? Don't hold this from me my eternal rival!"

"Sapphire."

That one word twisted the mood in the room completely. Shocked and disbelieving faces looked around, desperately begging for a different answer. No one wanted to believe that the sweetest girl, the girl that was friends with everyone, would attack Suna and even her home village. It just seemed completely absurd when someone tried to even consider it. Then again 13 years of being missing can change even the best of people. Kakashi dreaded to find out what that wretch did to her. If she really was willing to fight them without even the slightest sting of guilt then there wasn't a single hope left in this world. What terrified Kakashi the most though was the question of whether he would be able to fight her and harm her if the need arose.

"If the culprit does turn out to be the last member of the angel clan then we must be careful. She is greatly skilled if she managed to fight off the Kazekage and his ninja in Suna, meaning that this will also likely be a challenge for us. We also must be careful not to harm her critically. It is vital that we find out what happened to her and why she is acting this way. It may give us insight as to the enemy we are facing. I want all of you to spread out and scour the village for her. I will remain here and keep an eye out for her partner in case they wish to steal our scroll again. Understood?"

"Hai"

"Kakashi, don't worry about the future. Destiny has a funny way of working but I have no doubts that it means to return her to us eventually, just be patient."

"I hope so Hokage, I don't think I could manage to let he slp out of my hands again."

Their quiet conversation was soon interrupted by hushed whispers coming out from behind the large wooden doors. It sounded like there were several people behind there, and judging from their level of loudness he doubted that it was the intruders. in fact he knew exactly who it was. Shushing the jounin within the room Kakashi stalked towards the door, grabbing the handle in a firm grip. With one last look he quickly wrenched the door open and watched half amused half angry as the genin tumbled into the room. It seemed that all of the teams were there including Gai's, Kurenai's, Asuma's and mine. That meant that 12 genin that were meant to be at the academy instead spent their time listening instead to our conversation. Kakashi wanted to be mad at them but it seemed that they got what they deserved, most of them at least.

The genin were all piled up into one massive pile of bodies and unfortunately for Naruto and the others that sat at the bottom, Choji resided at the top. the only ones that were standing were Neji, Shikamaru and Sasuke, all of which seemed to have more sense that pushing against the door to see something through the keyhole. Still Kakashi had no doubt that they were just as willing to listen in to their conversation, which made them just as guilty as the others.

"What are you genin doing here? You sensei's ordered you to go back to the academy and wait for further instructions there, isn't that right?"

"We wanted to see what was happening in the village. It's our home too and if we want to defend it then we need to know what we're going to face. You can't keep us in the dark."

"Yes we can Shikamaru. This doesn't concern you or the others. Why do you think that I've only gathered the jounin here? This is far beyond any of you!"

"Yes it does, it concerns all of us. We're ninjas now, believe it!"

"If I remember correctly, you barely passed Naruto, besides just passing the test doesn't automatically make you skilled ninjas. You've got several years before you'll be at our level. I..."

"Whose Sapphire?"  
Sasuke interrupted Kakashi mid sentence, once again plunging the room into complete silence. The jounin looked at eachother wondering what to do while the genin just waited impatiently for the answer. Most of the jounin weren't even sure whether the genin should know about something as important as this, but soon realised that one way or another it would come into light. Kakashi was unwilling to answer, the memories too painful to bring back, so Kurenai answered instead with her head hung low.

"I'm not sure if you know but 13 years ago Konahoa was allied with the Angel clan."

"The Angel clan? I've never heard of it."

"Me neither."

"It was a small clan located on the west of the village within the forest. They may have been small but they were strong and loyal allies. Sapphire was the daughter of the clan leader, in fact she was set to take over after her father when she reached the age of 18."

"Well then what happened to her and the others? Why haven't we heard of them?"

This time it was Kakashi who answered, the gazes of the genin turning from Kurenai back to him. The memories were so painful that he thought his heart was being shredded but he ignored it and carried on. After all he was the only one out of the group that saw what happened with his own eyes.

"13 years ago there was an incident in the Angel clan. By the time their call reached the village, every single person had already been brutally murdered. the only one that managed to escape the massacre was Sapphire but even she didn't make it far. She was kidnapped barely metres from the village rescue unit. We couldn't do anything to stop it."

Kakashi's throat closed up and he had to fight to hold back the tears that threatened to fall at the multitude of distressing images that were flying through his vision. Understanding his pain Asuma placed a supporting hand on his back before turning back to the genin that seemed horrified with what they had just found out. There was a whole clan that they had no idea about, and now the past was coming back to haunt everybody involved.

"Sapphire wasn't seen again for the last 13 years and eventually her name was put on the KIA stone. We're not sure if this is really her that's attacking the village but it certainly seems like it."

"But why would she attack us if she used to live here. It makes no sense."

"That's something we have to hear from her. Right now I want all of you genin to return to the Academy and stay there. If something happens then don't fight but alert us."

"But Hokage…"

Sakura's question was quickly interrupted by a chunin running into the room, his panting a giveaway sign that he must have ran all the way here. His hair and body were matted with sweat, and a look of worry stuck on his face. Kakashi's entire attention was on the chunin, almost throttling him when he didn't answer right away. This had to be news on her and he didn't want to wait a single moment longer for her. When the chunin finally managed to say something, excitement and expectation ran through him like electricity.

"She's here!"

Not even waiting for the others he tore around the startled genin and headed for the main gate as fast as his legs could take him. The words echoing through his head like a mantra. He wasn't going to let her go that easily this time, this time he would fight for her with his entire being.


	3. Chapter 3-Distraction

Soon enough Kakashi saw the the giant wooden gates looming over the village his eyes drawn to their very base. The gates were wide open and the two guards that were meant to be guarding it were out cold along with their nin dogs. Whoever the attacker was, they came well prepared and with a vast knowledge of village security.  
The culprit stood calmly at the base of the gates, sapphire blue eyes sparkling in was as stunning as she always was, even at the tender age of 11. She grew over the years. Curves could now be seen all in the right places on her body, forming a perfect hourglass figure. Long blonde hair flowed down her back in soft curls like molten gold. A flash of worry appeared within Kakashi at the sight of the numerous bandages covering her chest and waist but it dispersed as quickly as it appeared. Tight black trousers covered the rest of her body, no doubt hiding numerous weapons from Kakashi's sight. The weapons that Kakashi could see included the twin daggers clenched in her hands, a simple gray flat sword strapped to her back and very likely a multitude of kunais of hidden within the pack. As much as he just wanted to run up to her tear away her mask and kiss her senseless, he knew that the only way he would be even able to talk to her would be through capturing her.

During the time that Kakashi was drinking in her sight, the rest of the jounin managed to make their way to the gates and flanked him on both sides. Their gazes were fixed on the woman before them but one or two sent Kakashi dirty looks for leaving them behind like this. Another thing that he noticed was the twelve weaker presences behind them hiding among the rooftops. It seemed that the genin had once again ignored orders and followed them to the gate. He would have turned around to scold them but what was more important is that he never took his eyes of Sapphire. It was if the fear that she would just suddenly disappear embedded itself deep into his heart causing him pain with every breath he took. It was Iruka that finally broke the silence, his voice echoing off the various building around us.

"Come with us peacefully and we can avoid any fighting."

All that we received in reply was a small smirk before she disappeared in a cloud of dust. Kakashi whirled around just in time to see her back as she ran into the village, only getting closer and closer to the hidden genin. I sped after her over the rooftops, the others following closely behind me. Seeing that she had no chance of outrunning us she paused on top of a building, the six of us immediately surrounding us. Kakashi half expected her to give up there and then but he should have known better. As soon as all of them stopped, five more clones appeared behind us, laughing loudly as they ran off into separate directions of the village. We looked at each other and made a decision in the split second we had. Kurenai, Guy, Asuma, Anko and Iruka each chased after a different clone while he stayed with the original.

Fighting a clone would have been easier since he couldn't hurt her but he had to do everything he could to get her back even if that meant injuring her in battle. Forming the right hand signs he appeared behind her, a kunai heading straight for her stomach. Her smirk slipped off her face as she barely dodged the hit, automatically jumping back away from his reach. She had underestimated him greatly and now paid careful attention to him, slowly starting to twirl the daggers in her hand. They both jumped towards each other, exchanging hits in a quick flurry, not able to land a single hit on the other. Tired with the parrying and blocking Kakashi struck his foot out underneath her own legs, making her stumble to avoid the hit. It was all that he needed to take her down. In a quick succession he managed to get behind her, the back of his kunai hitting its mark directly on the back of the head. Instead of seeing her fall like he expected to, a poof of dust appeared and her body vanished from his arms. For a moment he stared dumbly at the now empty spot in confusion wondering for a brief moment whether she managed to teleport to a different location before fainting but quickly brushed it away when he heard the voices of his comrades calling from the distance. It didn't take the others long to reach him, looking worse for wear but grinning proudly.

"Kakashi we took out all five clones. It was a tough fight but we managed. What about you? Where is she?"

"I seem to have taken out the sixth clone."

"What? That's not possible! We all saw her since the moment she got to the gates."

"Maybe she was a clone even before that, but it doesn't matter at this moment. What does matter is the location of the real version. If she's the distraction then she has to be here somewhere to keep us away from her partner doesn't she?"

The group turned around to look into the village, each one trying to decipher where the enemy could be hiding. Kakashi's mind was running at a hundred miles an hour trying to fit the puzzle together. Why would she not show herself now that her clones were down? Surely she had to be watching, what else could she be doing? The sudden thought struck Kakashi and he let out a small chuckle, making the others look at him questionably.

"What is it Kakashi? Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, I do. She's in the last place we would look."

Raising his hand Kakashi pointed straight to the Hokage building watching as the confusion in their eyes slowly changed to understanding and anger. It was the last building they would in as that was where the partner was supposed to be fighting the partner while she was meant to be here. It wouldn't make any sense unless you considered the partner, if it could even be called that. A smart manoeuvre, while they were looking for the woman in the city, she would be stealing the scrolls and no one would know it was her. The perfect alibi, committing another crime during the period of this one. It was them that were one step ahead this time and they could warn the Hokage before she got there. Looking at his allies Kakashi made the decision.

"We're going back. We can't let her escape."

Sapphire watched closely as her clones unleashed hell on the ninja before her, giving her more than enough time and opportunity to break into the Hokage tower. Analysing the jounin she watched their fighting styles and appearances, her gaze stopping on the silver haired man his appearance sparking something in her heart almost like she knew him from somewhere. Most of his face was covered with a dark mask much like hers, including his right eye which he covered with his head band. His body looked lean and fit, clearly displaying the time and effort he spent in training and battle. Sapphire had no doubt that if she were to fight him, he would turn out to be quite a tough challenge. She would have gladly oogled him even more but she had a task to complete and standing here just wasn't helping at all.

The moment the ninjas followed the clone further into the village she crept through the gates while keeping in the shadows. The streets were easy enough to follow, seeing as most of the villagers fled to their homes and closed their doors tight. From time to time a person ran by but they were either too busy to see her or just weren't paying attention. They really had faith in their ninja, she had an easier time sneaking in here than in Suna and she had to face the Kazekage there at the same time. The situation changed however when she reached the tower. Masses of ninja ranging from genin to chunin milled on the courtyard and in the building making it almost impossible to sneak in unannounced. She had no doubt that the Hokage was on watch as well meaning that all she had to do was find the most guarded room. That shouldn't be too difficult.

Sapphire considered sneaking in but decided against it, preferring to do that once there was less guards. For now she would have to find a way to get rid of them momentarily. Smirking she summoned several clones sending them out in different direction around the tower. It was an overused technique but it never failed her before. The ninja's perked up at a short whistle taking it as a sign of enemies. It was the only warning they received before the clones struck. Chaos erupted as several ninjas were taken out before their forces could regroup and return the fire. Splitting up into several groups they followed the clones further into the village knowing that they couldn't just let them run rampant. It left the Hokage tower mostly unguarded and much easier to sneak in.  
Sapphire was about to head for the front door but changed her mind the moment she felt the six original clones poof out of existence at the front of the village. Nothing like this happened before, but it meant that her plan was out in the light and that she didn't have a lot of time left. Changing her course he instead jumped up to the closest roof and onto the tower roof from there. Making her way up from the bottom would be too difficult and time consuming for her tastes, while no one would even suspect her if she approached from the top.

She slipped into an open window that led into an empty room. The room was filled with shelves each holding a multitude of dusty books and boxes. This must have been an archive where they stored the village's history. As tempting as it was to search through them and find out as much as she could, it had to wait until she had more time. Her decision faltered when she saw a small file lying on one of the shelves, an insignia of open wings painted clearly on it. Under any other circumstances she would have left it but the insignia weaved through her mind as if it was only a reach away yet never caught. It was definitely familiar to her but she couldn't say where she saw it or when. In a quick decision she grabbed the file stuffing it underneath her chest bandages before finally moving to the doors and heading into the well lit corridor. She followed it down, ignoring the rooms on either side of her until she reached a grand set of double doors. Two guards were stationed outside but judging from their chakra level they couldn't have been more than chunin. They would be easy enough to take out.

Taking out two kunais she was about to throw them at the guards when a commotion erupted from a parallel corridor. Hiding within the closest doorway she watched as the silver haired jounin jogged up to the doors. He talked with the guards for a moment before dismissing them to helping outside with her clones and walking in himself. With the guards now gone, Sapphire had no qualms about sneaking up to the ajar door while hiding her chakra and looking within.

The room itself was rather large and empty, with only a long desk at the end and various pictures of the previous Hokage hanging on the wall. At said desk sat an older man wearing the Hokage's outfit although it wasn't him that Sapphire was interested in as much as the giant scroll lying across the desk. It was definitely her target, although the problem now was how to get it away from a jounin and the Hokage.

"Kakashi, you're back quickly. Any reports?"

"It seems like the woman at the gates was just a clone to distract us much like in Suna. Several clones are now running around the village fighting our forces but they all should be taken down soon enough."

"And the others?"

"They stayed behind to help the guards fight off the clones around the tower. We have reason to believe however that the real culprit is already within the tower."

"The scroll has been here with me the entire time and no reports of intruders have been mentioned. She doesn't seem to be in here."

"What could she be after then Hokage? She stole the scrolls from Suna, so it's only safe to assume that our scrolls are also a target Besides why would she otherwise distract the guards guarding it? It would make no sense."

"Naruto possesses the nine tailed fox while Sasuke is the last Uchiha. Any of them and a multitude of others could be the real targets. I understand that both of them are in your care. I need you to bring them here and keep an eye on them until this blows over. As much as I want to believe that they aren't the real targets it would be safer to take the necessary precautions."

"They're at the academy, or at least were supposed to be there. With the chaos outside they could be anywhere at this moment."

"Find them as quickly as you can. Of they are her real targets then she is likely already there."

"Hai"

The information was very useful to the girl crouching outside but unfortunately it also meant that sooner or later more people would be coming and will eventually discover her. She had to act now even if it meant risking herself if she wanted to get that scroll. Reaching into the pouch she pulled out a smoke bomb and waited. She threw it the moment the jounin started to turn back towards the door filling the room with dark smoke. Taking the opportunity she flew into the room snatching the scroll off the table and rushing around the coughing jounin towards the wide windows behind the the windows she looked back just in time to see the two men clear the room from the smoke and look at her in shock. The scroll was tied firmly on her back as she smirked at the two forcing them into action. The silver-haired man threw himself at her desperation in his eyes, but the moment her reach the window she was already gone, jumping from roof top to roof top. Her laughter echoed around the village as she heard the order.

"Kakashi, after her!"


	4. Chapter 4-The Chase

Kakashi flew over the colourful rooftops constantly keeping an eye out for Sapphire, determined not to let her out of his sight. She was fast but he rivaled her speed and slowly inch by inch he started catching up to her. It was relatively easy to track and chase her as she didn't even attempt to hide her chakra like she did in the Hokage's office. In fact she seemed to be enjoying the chase, as he could hear tinkling laughter flowing towards him. He noticed the walls looming in the distance and quickly realised that he wouldn't be able to capture her without any help. Luckily enough for him the counter force seemed to have finished dealing with the clones and was now quickly converging onto their location. The numerous missiles fired at her from all sides relatively slowed her down allowing him to catch up even more.

Kurenai and the others also now joined the chase, doing their best to knock her off the roofs although the seemed to be having little success including Asuma's wind style techniques. The practice in Suna must have done her some good and Kakashi had no doubts that she now knew the outlay of the village thanks to her clones. Village citizens could be seen peeking out from their houses to watch the chase and some even climbed to higher places for a better view. In an attempt to lose us she threw down several smoke bombs behind her and made a harsh turn but that only gained her now the smirk was wiped off her face and instead replaced by a look of annoyence and deep concentration.

"Gai, you're the fastest of us all, you have to catch her before she reaches the gate!"

"You hear that Kakashi? Even Kurenai considers me faster than you!"

"This isn't the time for petty rivalries. We need to get her!"

Nodding Guy sped ahead quickly overtaking both us and Sapphire on the rooftops. Her shock was clear to see as he suddenly appeared before her. She must have underestimated him greatly, most likely due to his 'different' hairstyle and clothing, but nonetheless it was a big mistake. Despite her obvious surprise at the sudden unfolding of Guy's powers, it didn't seem to make her slow down a single bit. Instead of dodging or stopping, she produced a clone mid run which crashed into Guy knocking him out of the way and creating a straight path to freedom for Sapphire.

"Asuma go help Gai with the others. Kurenai come with me, I may need your genjutsu to bring her down."

"On it Kakashi."

The orders sprung from Kakashi's mouth as he increased his speed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noticed that Asuma went after Guy to take out the clone but it wasn't important right now. What was important was that Sapphire was once again in the lead and currently they had not method to capture her. Her was violently knocked out of his thoughts when she jumped to the side almost falling off the roof in an attempt to dodge something seemingly invisible. Coming to a standstill she looked to the ground before glaring at the opposite roof. Looking in that same direction Kakashi saw the genin proudly standing on it, Shikamaru in the lead with his arms and shadows outstretched towards her. As much as he wanted to discipline the genin, admittedly they did manage to stop her meaning that not everything was lost just yet. Lunging towards her, he immediately started attacking with intense speed, his opponent barely managing to block his hits.

It was clear that despite her skill and abilities all of them attacking together simply outmatched her enormously. Noting the same thing she pushed herself away from my blade landing a few steps away and forming handsigns before smashing her hand into the building below her. Ice erupted from below freezing their feet to the ground and momentarily immobilising them. Kakashi could her that genin gasp in amazement at the display of power but his concentration was focused sorely on the back of the quickly retreating woman. His kunai stabbed at the ice quickly crumbling it before his feet were moving again at even greater speeds than before.

"Where is she going? That's a dead end!"

It was a good question as the direction she was heading in abruptly ended to make way for a plaza where most of the food stalls stood during a normal day. Even a skilled ninja like her would not be able to breach the gap without descending to the ground, which would prove a giant tactical error. Anyone with her knowledge of the village would turn to avoid it, but she was heading straight for it. It just didn't make sense, at least it didn't make sense until she reached the edge of the last roof. To everyone's shock she jumped into the gap a massive smile on her face, before emerging once again but this time high up in the air. With a flourish of handsigns, a pair of stunning white dove wings sprouted from her back, ripping apart the white bandages she wore on her back. The wings must have been at least twice her height in length, and could easily wrap up around her, sealing her away from the outside world. Kurenai stopped and stared unable to comprehend what she was seeing, yet Kakashi carried on.

"You're not getting away this time!"

Kakashi leap into the air and sent a volley of weapons after her each aimed carefully and yet set to avoid any vital spots on her body. Desperation rolled off his body in waves as he watched the kunais miss their targets one by one thanks to the maneuvers she was performing in the air. Just as he was about to lose all hope, a single kunai hit it's mark. It embedded itself deep into her right wing throwing her off course and spiraling down. They could all she her attempting to stabilise herself but she didn't make it in time. A cloud of dust went up in the air with a crash as she rammed into the closest wall, ripping it into pieces. A small scream pierced the air before silence fell on the market square once again. Kakashi ran towards the area of the crash careful not to knock off any more brick from the wall. A little bit of digging soon uncovered her crumpled body now covered with bruises and scratches. Her wings had long since disappeared yet the blood from the wound was still visible making Kakashi cringe. He must have hit an important muscle in the wing to cause such a reaction. No doubt it caused her a lot of pain.

Picking her up bridal style as carefully as he could, Kakashi made his way out of the rubble towards where the other jounin were waiting for him. By now Guy and Asuma caught up to them, the clone successfully dispatched. Kakashi passed the scroll he found next to her to Iruka, before setting her gently on the ground her head lying comfortably in her lap. Kurenai approached them her fingers ghosting over the various wounds attempting to see whether there are any life threatening ones. Once she was finished with Sapphire's front she ordered Kakashi to turn her onto her side in order to take a look at her back. Everyone gasped at the sight their eyes widening with worry and pity. The pale smooth skin on her back was now replaced with jagged scars littering the entirety of her back, often joined by discoloured bruises and blistering burns. Kakashi couldn't even imagine the pain she must have been going through when she fought him, yet it did explain how one kunai managed to bring her back to the ground. The added pain must have been too much for her.

"Will she be ok?"

Yeah she should be fine however we need to have a look at those wounds. They look to be a couple of months old but for some reason it doesn't seem like she ever went to a healer to take care of them."

"It's a wonder how she could move at all."

"I...is it...is it her…?"

Kurenai's voice broke through the trance that surrounded the jounin still gazing at the horrifying wounds and brought back the expectation and fear that they had managed to push down until this moment. They all looked expectantly at Kakashi who closed his eyes for a moment bracing himself for the despair, before turning her back onto her back. His shaking finger reached out and gently started to remove the mask obscuring her face, the movement seeming agonizingly slow to the observers. A small heart shaped face peaked up at them framed by her golden locks. Big almond shaped eyes concealed eyes of the deepest blue, creating a beautiful contrast compared to her snow white skin. A small button nose was situated directly in the middle of her tiny face, underneath which were soft full luscious lips the colour of ripe cherries. Even the eyelashes were perfectly long easily helping her to look even more stunning than ever. Kakashi could feel his heart attempting to rip it's way out of his chest, his fingers gently tracing the smooth curves of her face ignoring the expectant look directed at him from every direction.

"It's her."

"Are you sure Kakashi? It could be just someone that looks like her."

Instead of answering Kakashi reached out his hand and grasped her wrist, bringing it up into their line of sight. The small charm dangled freely from her bracelet only stopping when Kakashi's fingers wrapped around hers and the small charm on his hand hit the other. The two charms bounced off each other a couple of times before finally settling down snuggled together perfectly as if they were once one. He struggled to push away the tears in his eyes, seeing that many of the jounin were releasing theirs. They finally found her and despite the fact that she attacked the village, Kakashi couldn't help but feel anything except pure unbridled joy.

"What are we going to do?"

"First we need to take her to be treated. most of the scars will stay there forever, but it will decrease the main and make it a bit more comfortable for her. After that we'll need to report this to the Hokage."

"Kurenai's right. I'll have to take the scroll back to the tower anyway and the rest of you need to report everything. Kakashi will take her to the hospital and then make sure that she reaches the Hokage's office. She still needs to be interrogated about her reasons for attacking this village."

"Hai"

Kakashi nodded and stood up with Sapphire in his arms and slowly made his way over to the hospital. Normally he would have been sprinting if he held an injured friend however he wanted to spend as much time in her company as he possibly could even if she was currently unconscious. besides he wanted to keep her away from Ibiki for as long as possible as well, since it would likely be him to interrogate Sapphire about her reasons. Deep within his thoughts, Kakashi didn't notice the several young ninjas following him carefully until they all landed beside him startling him awake.

"Oh it's you guys. What are you doing here?"  
"We wanted to see what was going on after you caught the thief."

"Yes, we saw the entire chase and Shikamaru even helped you out with his shadow technique."

"Yes I'll make sure to mention that in my report, but you should be back home and not following me around. Better yet you could be training so that next time you can help."

"But we wanted to see who the thief was Kakashi sensei!"

"Yeah, is it that friend of your that got kidnapped!?"

"Yes it is."

"So why did she attack the village?"

"We don't know that yet but she's going to be interrogated as soon as the medical ninja stabilise her and wake her up. I'll tell you everything later, or maybe she could do that. Either way you shouldn't be here right now and I suggest that you go before someone catches you."

"Awww, I wanted to help!"

"Like he said Naruto you baka, not now!"

"Finee."

With groans of disappointment the 12 jounin disappeared from the street, no doubt making their way home or going to their training fields to practice. Kakashi sighed in relief at the sudden silence and almost brought out his book thanks to a habbit. Only then his mind returned to the unconscious woman in his arms, and his grip around her tightened. A warm feeling fluttered through his body at the feeling of having her in his arms, knowing that she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. He finally found her, and he finally had the chance to have everything return to the way it was 13 years ago. Her scars were a clear sign that she suffered a lot through the years of her absence though, just thinking about it replaced the warm feeling in Kakashi's heart with anger and hatred. he had no idea who it was that kidnapped her and did this to her but he knew that he wouldn't allow something like that to happen again. He had grown stronger over the years, gaining his sharingan, becoming a jounin and even claiming the name of the famous copycat ninja for himself. He was stronger and if he ever found out who it was that harmed her like this then he would chase them to the ends of the world in retaliation.

Soon enough he reached the hospital and was forced to watch as the medical ninja took her away from him and started of healing her. It was at that point in time when he promised himself that she would never have to end up in a hospital for such reasons again. He would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening. A small voice in his head reminded him of Ibiki though. Would he hurt her, or would the Hokage prevent anything like that from happening? At this point Kakashi had no clue, only time could tell that.


	5. Chapter 5-Interrogation

The first thing that Sapphire felt was a dull ache in her back, as if someone was constantly pressing down on her wounds without mercy. In a feeble attempt to lessen the pain she attempted to move her hands only to find that they were firmly tied down, the rope digging into them every time she tried to move. It took a while for her scrambled brain to realise what was happening but the moment she did, her eyes flung themselves open. Blinding light shone from every available direction forcing her to blink several times before she finally managed to take a look around.

She found herself once again in the Hokage's office strapped firmly to the chair, the scroll nowhere in sight. Frantically looking around the bright room her eyes finally rested on the people standing around the Hokage's desk. The Hokage himself was sat in the chair while several ninja including all of the ones that pursued her stood behind him. All of their eyes were directed straight at her with caution. Only one person had a different emotion in his eyes, and that was the silver haired man. His eyes seemed more hopeful than anything with an imprint of something else. It almost felt like he cared for her. With all of them watching her carefully there wasn't any hope of escaping but nonetheless she focused on getting her hands out of the ropes. She only needed a distraction.

"So, I'm guessing that I can't have the scroll?"

The question hung in the air for a couple of seconds bringing the ninja back to the current situation. One of the men stalked forward until he stood in front her chair, his massive hand hitting the side of her face with full force. Her head turned to the side with the force of the blow, blood flowing freely out of her mouth causing her to silently gag. A grin appeared on the man's face, marred by the three great scars that crossed his entire face. Judging from his unpleasant personality and the vast array of weapons that he had stashed away, it wasn't hard to tell that I was currently facing Konoha's interrogator. He clearly didn't have an issue with torturing people, and that was what unnerved her the most as much as she didn't want to show it. Then again she's been through much worse, what could one man do to her?

"You're going to have to do much better than that if you expect anything out of me."

The man's grin widened even more as he raised his hand to strike her once more. Closing her eyes Sapphire waited for the pain but it never came. Opening her eyes once again she notice that the Hokage stood up and motioned the interrogator away. Grumbling slightly he listened to the order as the Hokage approached, his face set into a gentle smile. He knelt before me to look straight into my eyes as if searching for an answer to something. The silence in the room was deafening to such an extent that you could practically hear his old bones creaking with the movement.

"What's your name child?"  
"Why do you need to know? I don't tell my name to complete strangers you know."  
The interrogator growled stalking closer but a quick gesture from the Hokage prevented him from getting any closer. The older man sighed before taking of his red hat and looking back into my eyes. He seemed almost sad that she was so uncooperative. Something curious about this village was how they reacted to a threat. Throughout the entire chase none of the ninja aimed at a vital point, and now this. Instead of being tortured in some prison cell she was being held in the Hokage's office and asked about her name. It almost seemed that they wanted her on their side, as if they really cared what happened to her. It was a curious feeling, one she wasn't familiar with.

"Do you not recognise me? Does nothing around you feel familiar?"

Taking a closer look at the older man, she took in his wrinkled face, gray hair and kind eyes yet nothing seemed to pop out at her. Changing the course of her eyes she gazed across each ninja in turn trying to fathom whether she had ever seen them before but once again nothing gave the slightest inclination. She was about to sigh and shake her head when her gaze landed on one of the portraits above the desk on the far wall. More precisely, it was the picture of a young blonde man his blue eyes twinkling in mischief and amusement. Compared to the others on the wall he almost didn't seem to fit yet at the same time Sapphire felt that he belonged. Following her gaze the Hokage's eyes also rested on the image his face falling into a sad frown. Shaking her head Sapphire convinced herself that she was being manipulated. Why would they be so nice otherwise?

"Sorry but nothing pops out and the only thing I really know about you is that you're the Hokage and that you have me tied to a chair to be beaten up. Did I miss anything?"

"We're not going to hurt you if you cooperate."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"You're name is Sapphire Storm Angel. Am I wrong?"

Her head whipped round to the speaker identifying him as the silver haired jounin who chased and eventually brought her down. Leaning against the wall he attempted to appear cool and collected however it was quite obvious that something was on his mind. His hands were clenched tightly in fists making him look like he was ready to punch the closest thing to him. His face was hardened into a frown though she could discern the sadness that peeked out from underneath his mask both physical and literal. In fact his entire body was riddled with tension but at the same time the look in his eyes told me that he was utterly desperate for something, as if he was scared of losing the last shreds of hope and sanity that he had left.

"How do you know my name? Do I know you?"

He looked at the Hokage in a silent question and received a small nod in return. As the Hokage slowly got up and walked back towards his desk, the jounin took his place kneeling at her side. He seemed almost scared to approach her, the weary look on his face told her that much, but he didn't seemed to be scared of her personally.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake, otherwise known as the copycat ninja. We used to best friends 13 years ago when you and your family still lived in this village."

Sapphire's body stiffened at the prospect of finding out her past but at the same time the back of her her was reminding her to be cautious. These were her enemies and yet they were willing to reveal everything to her as long as she listened. It's like they wanted her to remember what happened, which just didn't add up in the overall scheme of things. Besides she noticed the almost imperceptible flinch at the word flinch that the jounin gave off, like one where someone would lie. As much as she wanted to know the truth, she stopped herself from asking any more questions.

"I don't believe you. This is the first time that I entered this village personally so I definitely don't know any of you. You're not my friend."

Tears pooled within the man's eyes but he pushed them back looking almost as if she just shattered his heart and was dancing on it. He look back at the Hokage, the hopeless look on his face almost begging the man to find some way to get her to come to her senses. A similar look crossed the Hokage's face however, and it was clear that neither he nor anyone else in the room seemed to know what to do in a situation like this.

"So you don't remember anything to do with this village or the people in it?"

"Just the things that I researched myself a few week prior."

"What about this? Why this file?"

Reaching into his desk the Hokage revealed the small file with the angel wing crest that she had recently 'acquired' from the village archives. he seemed particularly interested as to the reason why she had taken that particular file and no others. However much she might have wanted to answer she didn't know herself so she decided to remain silent. Seeing this the Hokage sighed once more before placing the file back into his desk and motioning kakashi and the others towards it. The people in the room converged on the Hokage whispering in a frenzy and attempting to figure out what to do with her now. Kakashi turned his head ever so often to glance back at me but Sapphire refused to make any more eye contact with him. Instead she focused further on pulling her wrists out of the rope. One of her wrists was almost free and it would only take a little bit more to push it off. The marks on her wrists stung and she had no doubt that they were bleeding but she had to continue. They may have been seemingly nice so far but sooner or later they are going to try and use force, and there is no way that she was going to stay here when that happened.

"What is the last thing that you do remember?"

The sudden sound almost startled her almost making her reveal her attempts to take off the tight rope. Looking up she noted that all of the occupants of the room were staring at her once again, expecting her answer. She considered telling them the truth however her mind won over her heart. She just couldn't trust these people with her secrets and problems.

"I'm afraid that, that's quite personal, so don't expect me to answer that question."

"I will use Ibiki If I have to. He's an expert at getting things out of people..."

The sudden change was visible in the man as he ordered the interrogator forwards with a wave of his hand. Her time had run out and the village was going to turn to torture to get what they needed out of her. The interrogator walked towards her once more, his grin showing her that he was ecstatic that he finally could do whatever he wanted to her. He stopped a few steps away from where she was sitting allowing the deafening silence to fall onto the room once again. She looked down into her lap pretending to consider her choices while at the same time desperately pulling off the remaining bits of the rope from her wrists.

"Well, what is your decision? Either you tell us everything or Ibiki steps in."

A grin appeared on her face as the last of the rope gave way and dropped to the ground. She lifted her head up to meet the Hokage's eyes and her grin widened further at the complete look of shock on his face at her reaction. She moved her fingers lightly behind her back to check the maneuverability before slightly bracing herself.

"You're going to have to catch me first old man."

Springing out of her chair she raised her leg catching the interrogator on the face and sending him sprawling across the red carpet. By the time the other occupants of the room realised what was going on and managed to react, she was already by the door trying to get it open. Unfortunately they must have locked it before she woke up as no matter what she did she couldn't get it open. That only left combat. With that in mind she started forming handsigns just as a great tumult erupted. Ninja lunged in an attempt to stop her all at incredibly fast speeds. Sapphire knew that she didn't have much of a chance to fight off six ninja and a Hokage in an enclosed space but she didn't quite expect to be taken out so quickly.

The first one to take her out was the man in a green suit and a bowler cut. For his absurd looks he was incredibly fast. He tackled her forcing her hand signs to alter into taijutsu as she attempted to fight him off, however like with his running speed he was also incredibly skilled in this. She barely managed to hold him off for a few seconds before a pair of muscled arms grabbed her from behind and brought her into a hard chest.

"I've got her Hokage."

Sapphire instantly recognised the voice belonging to Kakahi which only strengthened her struggles. She attempted to kick him, free her arms and even bite him but his hold on her was simply too strong. As minutes went on her body weakened, the pressure on her chest preventing all the air she needed to enter her lungs forcing her to slow down in her movements. Seeing this, the Hokage motioned Ibiki forwards his eyes sad and guilty. Her desperate struggles started again but no matter what she did she wasn't able to move from that spot. So much for Kakashi being my best friend.

"I apologise for this but it's your choice. Ibiki, do what you have to do."

The man in mention stalked forwards before roughly pinning a single finger to her forehead while his other hand was located on his own. Immediately pain started up in every part of her body all at the same time, burning through her nerves like red hot coals. A small yelp of pain managed to sneak out from her mouth before she clamped down her lips, teeth clenching in an attempt not to release any more signs of pain. Ibiki pushed further into her mind only doubling the pain and making her back arch into her captors arms in a weak attempt to remove the finger. Using the last of her strength she threw up her defences, doing her best to keep the intrusion from reaching the deepest parts of her mind where all her secrets were kept. She could feel him digging through the information at the edge of her mind but it wouldn't come of any use to him. Sensing this he reached further, finding the shield and pushing against it. This time she couldn't stop the shriek of absolute agony that escaped her parched throat. the pain was indescribable at this moment and if she she didn't go through this before then she would have given in a long time ago.

Shouts erupted from around her and the pain faded away into nothingness leaving behind only a dull feeling. The finger was taken off her forehead but by then she was far too exhausted to react in any physical way or to even acknowledge the fact. Her eyelids dropped and she would have fallen flat onto her face had it not been for Kakashi still holding her close to his body. He lowered her gently to the ground allowing her heart to rest on his lap and snuggle into his stomach. The muscled arms that were her cage just minutes ago now bundled her into his chest attempting to be as gentle with their movements as they could. Her bleary eyes caught just caught sight of a silver blob hovering over her before she was plunged into complete darkness.

"Sapphire?! I'm sorry! I am so so sorry…"


	6. Chapter 6-Apologies

Kakashi sat on the floor cradling her limp body to his chest as tears streamed down his face. He wasn't strong enough to hold them back anymore, not after what he had done just moment ago. Her face seemed serene now without any worries, a complete opposite of the pain that was etched onto it before. The scream she released echoed constantly through his mind, eating him away in guilt and self hate. He had promised to protect her and he had already broken that promise so many times, when he let her get kidnapped, when he hit her with a kunai, and just now when he held her down so that Ibiki could torture her. Convincing himself that it was for her good wasn't working, and only fueled the guilt that he now had. He didn't deserve her. The Hokage looked away from the two, feeling just as guilty about what happened to her, turning instead to Ibiki.

"Did you manage to get any information out of her?"

"No she managed to shield her mind enough to keep me out."

"What caused the pain?"

"Defending your mind from attacks like these can be a very useful skill but it also takes out a lot of chakra and causes a lot of pain especially with someone that has my skills and experience. The more I pushed on her defences the more she strengthened her barriers which in turn caused her more pain."  
"Then whatever she's hiding must be worth all the pain it cause her. It seemed that this problem goes far beyond what we feared."

"I did get this though Hokage, she wasn't lying about her lack of memories. She really does consider us complete strangers. It would help explain why she was so willing to steal from us but it still doesn't tell us why she was stealing scrolls in the first place especially since she gave them back."

Everyone contemplated the query silently while watching the two people on the floor carefully. They were Sapphire friends as well and neither of them wanted to cause her any more suffering, and from the look of it they doubted that Kakashi would allow it anyway. The problem still however remained as to the actions that should be taken. They couldn't well let her go knowing that she still considered them enemies and that she would likely run the first chance she got. Asuma was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"If someone took away her memories then is there a chance that we could bring them back? make her remember?"

"That really does depend on the method used. If it was a simple genjutsu to make her forget, I could easily reverse it with my knowledge. The problem is that it could be that or anything else that could potentially even kill her. Besides the memories might not even be in her mind anymore is someone completely removed them, meaning that she will never remember as there is nothing there to remember. The only way to know for sure is to find out from her personally"

"But how can we do that Kurenai? She doesn't trust us enough to even tell us her name!"

"You're right there Asuma, she doesn't trust us. Therefore I propose that for now we allow her to live in the village. As long as she is watched by a jounin she won't be able to sneak back out. We can even add her onto a team and send her on minor missions. It will help her to trust us as she gets to know us, besides visiting places she knew might help her remember some of the memories if they are still buried within her mind."

"That might actually work."

"We can't forget Suna though. The moment they learn that we captured her they will demand to punish her for her crimes against them which will most likely end up with her death. Our refusal will only worsen the relations between the villages and maybe even cause a war. We can't let that happen."

"We can't just abandon her either Asuma!"

The group was startled at Kakashi's furious voice as he glared at the man. Terror was still surging within his body at the thought of having Sapphire punished by death or locked up somewhere where he wouldn't be able to reach her. Desperation was clearly seen as he looked at the Hokage hoping against hope that the thought of giving her away hadn't even crossed his mind. At the same time however he could barely contain the fury he felt at thinking of what Asuma mentioned. He almost sounded as if he wanted to give her up, he was supposed to be her friend as well! His fist itched to hit him straight in that face despite the extremely guilty look that now resided there.

"You know well that's not what I meant Kakashi. I just…"

"I don't care what you meant. We are not giving her over to anyone!"

"Calm down Kakashi. While I agree with Asuma on the matter of Suna, I would never give away one of my own especially since she has no memories. We are the ones that captured her and it is up to us to decide whether we wish to punish her or not. Besides, I believe that being locked up in this village will be enough punishment don't you?"

Kakashi sighed in relief at the Hokage's answer. He scolded himself for even thinking that the older man would ever give her away, knowing the man well. The man was simply to caring and kind to do that to anyone he considered as family, including Sapphire, someone that just tried to steal the most valuable scrolls from the leant his back on the wall beside him considering the Hokage's words. Would she really consider spending time with him as punishment? He had to admit that the concept hurt both his feelings and his male pride but as he speculated the Hokage would be right, especially after he held her down to be interrogated.

"That could work. We don't have to notify Suna about her capture as we're not supposed to know about their incident either. the time she spends with us could help her get used to the people around her and maybe even trust us again. If we can do that then maybe we will be able to get her memories back, and if not then we will have to force her barriers down and find out by force."

"You could kill her Asuma!"

"I know Guy but we will have to make that decision if no other choice is left and if she refuses to trust us. We can't have a potential enemy casually walking around our village. Hopefully we will never have to come to that."

"The matter now remains as to what team to put her in. She will have to be around a jounin at all times otherwise she will need to be restrained. We need someone who don't mind doing that."

"Put her in my team."

The Hokage looked at kakashi curiously weighing the options within his mind. On the one hand it was kakashi that was the closest to Sapphire before she was kidnapped. His knowledge of her favourite things to do or places to visit could very well help jog her memory and speed up her recovery. He would likely be the one with the most chance and possibility to bring her back. On the other hand his closeness to her and the fact that he obviously cares could be a barrier between them. He could easily let his feelings get in the way and do anything for her, including allowing her to escape to protect her from Ibiki. It was clear from the man's reaction that he was strongly against any more interrogations and since this concerned his best friend, the Hokage had no doubt that he would be problematic if it came to a situation like that. Eventually deciding, the Hokage sighed before addressing kakashi.

"Very well, but I expect weekly reports on her actions and the possible progress that may have been made. If she escapes it will be on your head Kakashi, and if it comes to another interrogation you will not interfere. Do you understand?"

Kakashi hesitated at the prospect of the second interrogation but nodded his head anyway. If he did his best to make her remember then they wouldn't need to use Ibiki again. He spent hours playing with the girl at a young age, and his wide knowledge on her likes and dislikes would no doubt help her remember. besides, he was the only one who knew about her secret places to rest, where they spent hours on end just basking in each other's presence. If anyone could get her to remember it would be Kakashi.

"Hai"

"Good. There is also the matter of her sleeping arrangement. She will have to live with you for the time being as you have to keep an eye out for her 24/7. When she starts trusting us more we will be able to provide her with her own home. I hope that you haven't got a problem with that."

"No Hokage. I have a free room that she could live in for the time being, so it won't be a problem. It's located right next to mine so if she does try to escape she will have to get past me again."

"Very well. Kakashi you will take her there now to rest, but wait a moment. I need to have a word with you. The rest of you are free to go."

The other people in the group nodded before slowly filtering out of the room, the heavy wooden doors swinging shut behind them leaving Kakashi alone with Sapphire and the Hokage. The man in question sighed for the upteenth time before sitting down and sliding his hat off his head. The wrinkles surrounding his eyes made him look exhausted but the small smile on his face showed just how pleased he was with the progress in today's meeting. His gaze softened when it reached Kakashi and the woman in his arms as if remembering something happy. Unlike mere moments ago, his posture was slumped only making him look like the old man he really was. The responsibility on his shoulders was putting a lot of pressure and weight on him, degrading the once powerful and proud man. It made Kakashi proud to have a leader that was willing to make that many sacrifices for his people.

"You wanted me Hokage?"

"Kakashi...I need to know that you realise that she may never regain her memories about us and this village. You might never be able to regain what you once had with her. I don't want you to get your hopes up only to have them crushed back down again."

Kakashi looked down at the small form in his arms, her entire form curled up into his chest with her head laying directly where his heartbeat sounded from. The idea that she might never remember struck a painful chord in Kakashi's heart but he quickly brushed it off. He couldn't give up while there was still hope of getting back what they had no matter how small it may have seemed to be.

"I'm well aware of that Hokage and although it petrifies me, it's not going to make me give up on her while there is still a shred of hope left for her. When we were young it was her who started our friendship. I was so proud and stuck up that I refused to associate myself with her even made fun of her, and yet she never gave up. She was there for me when my teammates died and always found time to talk to me about random things. She never gave up and that's what finally pushed me to accept her as my friend. She made me realise that I wasn't alone and now it's my job to do the same for her. If i just gave up on her like that then what kind of friend would I be?"

The Hokage smiled at Kakashi's confession, the hope fluttering in his own heart multiplying at the heartfelt words. Seeing that the Hokage had nothing more to add, Kakashi bowed and turned to walk out of the double doors Sapphire still lying gently in his arms. He was stopped when the Hokage suddenly reached a conclusion and called out to him one last time.

"She wasn't just your friend was she?"

Kakashi's body stiffened at the question, his face turning several shades of red before finally being able to control the changes. Looking back at the Hokage he saw that the small smile had now turned into a big grin as he looked from Sapphire to him. Kakashi's head looked back at the woman in his arms his heart beating erratically at the close contact after 13 years but he composed himself enough to be able to answer the Hokage truthfully and without stuttering. He hadn't been expecting him to pick up on something like that as the others didn't seem to but looking back at his behaviour today especially when concerning Sapphire he wasn't too surprised. He really had made it quite obvious, especially with the hurt coursing within him at the fact that she didn't recognise him.

"The day she disappeared we had arranged to meet in our normal meeting place. I was planning on telling her how I felt then but as you know her clan was attacked and she was taken. I missed my chance back then."

"Well it seems that fate has given you another chance, but you're going to have to work hard for it. Good luck with winning her back Kakashi. I she is a stubborn as she was back then then I fear that you may need it."

"Thank you Hokage."

Bowing again Kakashi left the big building and walked down the streets once again filled with citizens. Several roofs and building were being repaired after the various battles that occurred only a few hours ago as Sapphire's clones managed to make some damage in an attempt to successfully distract the other forces guarding the tower. The few people who recognised Sapphire gazed at them curiously likely wondering why she wasn't locked up like others would have been, and just why the Copy cat ninja was carrying her in such a way. Kakashi would have answered them but at this moment the woman in his arms was the only thing on his mind causing him to just ignore the strange looks he got. His walk remained peaceful until he was close to his home. By then three more people decided it would be fun to join their little group. It seemed his genin finally got tired of waiting and decided to find him and get the information out of him. Their questions about today's occurrence were quickly stopped however as they noticed the thief in their sensei's arms, their eyes widening.

"Kakashi sensei! Is that you're girlfriend?"

"Don't be stupid Naruto! It's the woman they were chasing this morning!"

"Well then why is she here and not in prison?"

Even Sakura was flabbergasted at that question and she turned to look at Kakashi questioningly. Sasuke's and Naruto's gazes quickly joined hers and Kakashi found himself regretting the decision to take on students this particular year. Things would have been much simpler if he wasn't constantly being pestered about things from three hyperactive kids.

"It's complicated. I'll tell you all later. Right now I have to take care of her and let her rest."

"What about our training? You can't train us while you're watching a criminal."

"Don't worry about your training Sasuke. I will still be there to do that and who knows maybe even Sapphire will help you out. She definitely has a lot of skills you could learn from her. Meet me tomorrow on the training field at five am. Don't be late."

"What! Five am! Are you kidding me?"

"No I'm not Naruto. Now I would appreciate it greatly if you would just let me carry on with my job."

Before the genin could argue any more, Kakashi teleported into him small home leaving his students behind coughing at the dust cloud he created. Sighing in relief he made his way through the small corridor to the side until he reached a single white door. he hesitated before going into the room, the area itself only bringing back painful memories. The walls were painted the same bright sky blue colour and a big white bed occupied the middle of the room making it look almost like the clouds that Shikamaru loved so much. Pulling off the covers he placed her gently on the bed before taking off her shoes and making sure that she was completely covered. His hand lightly traced the contours of her face before tugging a piece of loose hair behind her ears.

Pulling himself away from her he stood up and walked to the door, he wouldn't get any points if she woke up to find him staring at her like a stalker. Now that he knew she was here he felt an unwillingness to leave the room just as before her arrival he felt unwilling to even enter the room. the only times he did so was to clean any dust or just to remind himself that she was still somewhere out there. It was the only thing he had left of her including the bracelet, the room often being used for sleepovers before she was taken away from him. He had kept everything the same since then, in hopes that someday she could return. It seemed that his wish had been granted. Giving the angel in the bed one last look, Kakahi left the room with a grin on his face, one that hasn't been there for years.


	7. Chapter 7-Nightmare

Blood, that's all there was. A small young blonde haired girl ran to her house, frantically avoiding the burning buildings and the bodies stacked up in piles, scattered around the clan grounds. Her short white dress was soaked through with blood from her numerous wounds throughout her body. She rushed through the crushed elm door, and her small frail body froze in fear at the sight before her. Her gaze fell on a tall, tough man with a thick mane of black hair messily covering his face only revealing his eyes. From foot to head he was covered in pitch black as if he was a demon from the pits of hell. His eyes were bottomless pits that pulled you into his hate and greed, until it felt like you were drowning, unable to catch a single breath.

Yet it wasn't her eyes that scared her the most. No, it was the sight of her mother hanging from his hand by her neck, violet bruises already forming. Her blonde hair was dirty and matted with blood and her eyes were glazed over in pain. She knew full well that she would not survive this night. Further down, besides the wall, lay the girl's father, in a pool of his own blood. His whole front was shredded as if he was attacked by a wild animal. His eyes closed, and his long hair was out of his usual ponytail and lay scattered about his deathly pale face. He wasn't moving, not a single twitch.

Sapphire collapsed onto her knees from shock, the noise causing her mother to look over. Tears pooled from her eyes onto her pale cheeks, as she saw her beloved daughter in such a state. With her remaining strength she mouthed one word...RUN.

The girl turned around and ran from the burning village and into the dark forest. Her little heart was bleeding from the knowledge that there was nothing she could do. She was weak. Tears fell down her face and onto the shredded dress she had on, as the only sound coming from behind her was a loud snap. She ran and ran until she heard familiar voices coming her way. She stumbled into a clearing and beheld a group of jounin coming to her clan's aid. They were too late.

In the lead was a familiar silver haired ninja, her only friend and the only person who knew all her secrets and worries. The boy's eyes widened as he saw his best friend stumble before him soaked in blood, tears of pain flowing from her eyes. She started falling and he ran to catch her before she hit the ground, but a spiked black chain was faster. It wrapped around her, tearing into her skin and pulling her into the cold embrace of the killer. He smirked sadistically.

"Let her go you monster!" the boy shouted, his voice filled with worry and anger.

"Now why would I do that? She makes a fine trophy. The last of the Angel clan. Makes her kind of special don't you think?"

The boy lunged at him, only to be stopped by another ninja. The killer had Sapphire. One wrong move and she could end up in two pieces on the ground before any of them could get to her in time. They boy may have still been young at that time but he certainly wasn't stupid. he wasn't going to risk the life of his only remaining friend.

"Don't rush into this. One wrong move and she's dead." The shinobi turned to the stranger. "Hand her over. She is a part of the Village hidden in the Leaf and we protect our own. You are trespassing on our land and have committed atrocious crimes here today. We will take you into custody where you will be questioned and punished."

"Now what's this? A bunch of brats that think they can beat me? Maybe I should finish you off to just to teach you some humility."

"If you do not hand over the girl now, we will be forced to take physical action."

The girl trembled in the arms of her parent's killer, but tried to hide it, attempting to look strong in front of her friend. She looked at the silver haired ninja and slowly shook her head, to stop him. She couldn't witness the death of another person she cared for, she wasn't worth it. If she did she might just not survive anyway.

More ANBU ninjas appeared, surrounding the dark haired man weapons drawn. This just caused him to laugh maniacally and tighten his chains around the petite girl. The chains dug deep into her skin and she screamed in agony.

"Well it was lovely meeting you all but I'm afraid I must be going. I have much better things to do than to fight a bunch of brats, like taming my little pet. She needs to learn her respect." With that he flicked his hand. The young jouning raced towards his friend but shadows surrounded them making them vanish into thin air. He was too late. The last thing the boy heard was a panicked cry.

"KAKASHI!"

The silver haired jounin fell to his knees in despair, tears freely flowing out of his grief stricken eyes. The other jounin looking at him with pity, emphasising with how he must have felt. First his team, and now the only friend he had left. After a few moments of wallowing in despair, Kakashi stood up, new found determination written on his face.

"I will find you Sapphire." He murmured quietly to himself. "I will find you and save you", his first friend...his first love.

Kakashi flung himself out of the bed, kunai in hand and desperately panting for breath. His eyes were wide and panicked as her hatred around the room looking for enemies, while his heart was beating at an erratic pace. He took several deep breath as he tried to get the nightmare out of his mind though he knew well that it wasn't a nightmare at all. The vision he just saw was an old memory that had haunted him for thirteen years straight never letting him have a good night's' sleep, and always bringing back the terror he felt back then. He had hoped that now that Sapphire was back in his home the nightmare memories would let up but no such luck.

Standing up and opening the curtains in his room, Kakashi noted that the sun was slowly climbing its way up between the building to the top of the sky. It couldn't have been later than 5 am but Kakashi didn't really see the point of going back to bed. he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again anyway. A brief thought of his genin waiting for him on the field flashed through his mind but he pushed it aside wasn't going to wake up Sapphire after her ordeal yesterday since he needed her sleep, and besides the three needed to learn a little bit of patience or they would never make it as some thought Kakashi decided to check up on the guest in the other room, his mouth curling softly as he remembered her nasty habit of waking up extremely early and pulling him out into the forest before he could wake up properly himself. He found himself missing even those little things that annoyed him when he was younger, and chastised himself once again at getting mad at her. When she disappeared all he could do was go through every moment he ever shared with her and regret the words that he said or how he would just ignore her. To him every moment with her was valuable and only then did he realise how much he had taken her for granted back then. He wondered quietly whether that particular habit remained embedded in her mind before smiling slightly.

"Well, I better go check. We don't want her getting away now do we."

When feeling returned to her body Sapphire realised that she couldn't feel the hard surface of the chair beneath her anymore or a jail cell, in fact the surface she was laying on was far from hard and uncomfortable. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, drinking in the sight before her and wondering whether the executioner really did kill her. She was laying on a queen sized bed filled with pillows of all different colours, shapes and sizes surrounding her. She doubted that she had ever felt a bed this comfortable and for a moment she just closed her eyes enjoying the blissful moment. Mere moments later he eyes flung themselves open as a certain throught snuck its way into her mind. How did she get from being interrogated in an office to the most comfortable bed she felt in her entire life?

Studying the room more closely now, she noted the soft blue walls and a small desk standing directly under one of the windows looking onto the street outside. Attempting to get up she finally noticed that she was snuggled into a white bed cover, its weight preventing her from moving very far. Disentangling herself from it took her a good couple of minutes but she eventually managed to do it only to land in a painful heap on the floor. Whatever that interrogato ried to do to her yesterday really took a toll on her, causing thoughts to spin around restlessly in her mind and a numbing pain to echo through her entire body. The fall from the big bed didn't help at all either. Sapphire got up with a quiet groan before slowly making her way towards the small white desk in an attempt to discover exactly where she was. The desk itself was much too small for her to sit at, and instead looked as if it was meant to be for a child, which only confused Sapphire further. Looking out of the window she noted the hundreds of people milling around the busy street either buying things or gossiping very loudly. Several of the pointed towards her direction not seeing her, telling her that she was probably the op of the town gossip at the moment. The busy streets and the view also told her that she was probably in the middle of the village, which would make it very hard to escape if she ever had the chance to do so.

Sapphie was about to turn towards the white door but her gaze was stopped by the small pile of crudely drawn pictures of stickmen lying on the small desk. Picking a couple of the up she noted that they all showed the same scenario, or at least very similar. A little blonde girl holding the hand o a taller gray haired man, both having enormous grins on their faces only being completed by the happy scenery around them. The man in the photo looked very similar to the ninja that caught me yesterday, Kakashi Hatake, but the young girl seemed unfamiliar. Was it his daughter, or maybe even granddaughter? His hair did make it hard for her to determine his age. Sapphire found herself racing the small figure, so deep in thoughts that she didn't hear the door creak open and a tall figure enter.

"That little girl is you if you haven't figured it out yet. I thought you might want to see something familiar so I left your pictures here to see."

Sapphire twisted round in shock at the sudden voice from behind her, almost stumbling over her own feet and falling flat on her face. She calmed her heart down before finally looking up to see Kakashi smirking down at her, seeming to find her small stumble extremely amusing. He was casually leaning against one of the door frames but upon closer inspection you could see the way his body tensed, ready to react to any sudden or threatening movements. As the surprise faded away from her system, it was replaced with anger at his behaviour but also a tiny bit of curiosity at his words. looking back down at the picture she held in her hand she had to admit that the girl looked a lot like her but it couldn't be possibly be her. How could she draw a picture like this if she never met this man in her life. It just didn't add up. Sensing her confusion Kakashi made the motion to speak again but stopped when she looked back up at him.

"Look. I understand that you lost a friend a long time ago and that you miss her but you are mistaking me for someone I'm not. All I wanted in the first place was the scroll and nothing more. I haven't even met you before this!"

"So you keep saying saying but look at the facts. This is your room and everything inside belonged to you including the pictures. You are here instead of a prison cell where any other village would have placed you, and you have a certain degree of freedom. You may not recognise us but I can make a bet with you that you ask anyone in the village and they'll be able to tell you your name. Then there's your confession a minute ago. I get the feeling that under any other circumstance you would have bluffed and agreed to my claims simply to find a way out of this place, yet you did the exact opposite. Why?"

Sapphire struggled with the answer, the words of the man before her were sounding more and more likely. The look on his face was determined as if he was ready to force the truth onto her if he really had to. All of this put together only proved to confuse her more, making her unsure whether she should trust this man or whether he was just here to get her to tell them everything she knows. The thoughts swirling around her head forced her hands to hold it, trying to relieve some of the pain and confusion the only way it knew.

"No I'm not! Stop saying that!"

"And yet you don't have access to all of your memories do you?"

Her body stiffened at his argument recognising that he really did have a point. A lot of her life was shrouded in mystery only leaving a few years prior to this day with no explanation whatsoever. She had spent several years looking for the truth of her past only to come up empty handed each and every time. She didn't wasn't to be disappointed yet again but she couldn't help but feel the surge of hope within her. What if this was really where she grew up? Could she really pass up a chance like this? She turned her back towards the door, instead deciding to look out of the window before her. The finger she still had on the painting started tracing the little girl again as she built up the courage to face failure again. No matter how much the thought of disappointment again terrified again, but she couldn't just let something like this pass, not when she waited so long for the answers.

"How do you know that it's me? How can you be so sure of it?"

Soft steps echoed through the silent room as he walked closer until she could feel his muscled chest against my back again. Kakashi seemed to sense that the atmosphere in the room suddenly tensed and slowly wrapped an arm around her chest, tight enough to bring her closer but not so tight to restrict her movement like he did in the Hokage tower. His other hand reached up to her stomach and gently unwrapped the bandages covering that area, slowly revealing the jagged and rough scarring that encircled her entire waist. When the entire scar was revealed his hand went to trace it lightly, causing Sapphire to shiver in expectation.

"You gained this scar the day you were taken away from us. It happened right before my eyes and I couldn't do anything but watch you get taken away."

The pleasurable sparks that erupted at his touch were only getting worse, and Sapphire had a sudden urge to lean back into his chest and just relax. Her eyes opened when he withdrew his hand and turned her around to face him. A small smile graced his lips and he looked down at her only showing the truth that those orbs held within. It made her almost want to trust and believe him. A soft whisper left her slightly opened lips, Kakashi watching them closely.

"It's going to take much more than that to make me believe."

"I know and believe me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make you trust me again. Now a good place to start would be breakfast don't you think?"


	8. Chapter 8-Team 7

Sapphire stretched her arms and stiffened at the pain she felt in her muscles, unfortunately she couldn't blame anyone but herself. That's just what happens when you take extra risks just to prove yourself, sore muscles and being captive of an attractive ninja who was certain that you were his long lost best friend. Walking into the small bathroom Kakashi just showed her, she decided to take a long hot shower. She could practically feel her muscles relaxing against the water pounding on her skin and sighed in contentment. Only when she finished showering did she realize that she didn't have any clean clothes to wear. Her old ones were dirty and ripped from the struggle yesterday, meaning that she would need to go the market soon enough to get new ones. What to do for now though? Taking the biggest towel she could find, she wrapped it around herself and walked towards the kitchen, embarrassed to ask Kakashi but quickly realising that he was the only option out of this mess.

She didn't feel comfortable walking around practically naked near a man but there was no other alternative, especially since the bandages covering her chest were ripped in the fight, she didn't even have a dirty top to wear at that moment. What made her even more uncomfortable however was her lack of weapons. They were all likely taken away when she was captured and despite still having her jutsus, she felt almost defenceless without them.

She walked down the empty hallway until she reached the kitchen, with Kakashi at the stove, and his nose buried in a small orange book. He was completely oblivious to her presence until she cleared her throat causing him to look up. His eyes only glanced at her towel clad figure before quickly falling down back onto his book, the faintest twinge of red on his cheeks. He suddenly seemed very uncomfortable and the atmosphere around them grew even more awkward.

"Er, I don't have any clean clothes with me."

"Sorry. I got Kurenai to bring some over last night. There in the wardrobe in your room. I'll take you shopping later on."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

SIlence fell again and she took that as a sign to get out of there. She practically ran back into the room closing the door behind her, her cheeks glowing bright red. She was never this close to a man before and the fact that he seemed just as shy about it as she was only worsened it. Groaning in defeat she trudged towards the wardrobe and opened it to find the clothes Kakashi told her about. They consisted of a simple ninja outfit that clung to her like second skin, making her slightly uncomfortable at the unusual amount of clothing. Where she had come from she was expected to wear much less than here. The disadvantages of being the only woman in a camp full of men. Collecting herself she walked back down the hall towards the kitchen once again trying not to look at Kakashi when she reached it. Her breakfast was already sitting on the dining table so she sat down and started eating, only muttering a small thank you before doing so. Kakashi chuckled at her suddenly shy nature but didn't say anything until she finished the food, the thought of poison not even crossing her thoughts for some reason.

Are you finished? Good, I was hoping to introduce you to my team today. After what happened yesterday they have been very impatient to meet you."

"Where are my weapons?"

"I made sure to take them all away after you were captured. You can have them back when I'm completely sure that you won't stab me in the back while I sleep."

Fury welled up within Sapphire but she bottled it up inside, only showing it in the withering glare that she sent the man before her. He had no right to do something like that, especially while she was unconscious. Did he really think so low of her! Then another thought struck her as her gaze turned to suspicious instead.

"Some of those weapons were hidden on my body. Are you telling me that you molested me in my sleep to find them?"  
She wasn't shouting but her tone was low and dangerous making Kakashi sweat in front of her in fear. Women could be truly scary when it came to issues like these.

"No! I got Kurenai to do that, I swear! I only took the weapons that were visible and nothing more!"  
She looked at him measuring the truth in his eyes before nodding slightly making him visibly relax. He had a hard enough time convincing her of the truth now and if she ended up being mad at him for something like that as well he didn't think that he could forgive himself. Taking both plates and putting them in the sink, he turned to look at her again.

"Now that you're finished I can finally meet my students. You're going to have to help me train them."

"What!? There is no way that I'm working with a bunch of kids. They probably can't even use real jutsus not to mention actually be a challenge."

"Sorry you don't have much choice in this, Hokage's orders. Besides what's the harm, you're stuck with me anyway."

Before she could protest again, Kakashi picked her up and slung her over his broad shoulder, walking out of the apartment as if he was carrying a feather and not a fully grown woman. She banged against his back but he ignored her and continued down the street. It did however attract the attention of other people who looked at her strangely or commented on how cute the two looked together making her go red and give up in her efforts to be released. She wouldn't be able to get away in her current state anyway. Her chakra reserves were still fairly depleted after the battle yesterday, and her weapons were hidden somewhere by Kakashi. Looking around her she could see the villagers milling about and doing everyday things like shopping or just gossiping with friends. Envy overtook her for a moment, they had such a simple life not worrying about their life every second of their life and being able to sleep peacefully without nightmares plaguing their minds each night. It almost made her more willing to accept the story Kakashi gave her, even if it was fake, it would allow her to experience life like that even if it was just for a moment. Being so lost in thought she didn't notice when the village ended until Kakashi stopped in a green field surrounded by a forest.

Finally letting her go, Kakashi straightened and a smug smile appeared on his face. Following his gaze she noticed three kids sitting on the grass each with a scowl on their face directed at the man next to her. The one on the left had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, with an even brighter orange jumpsuit. The look on his face looked a bit dumb but at the same time he seemed like the friendliest of the trio. Next to him sat a pink haired girl with equally pink clothes. She was glaring at Kakashi but every so often her gaze would drift to the final boy that was sitting on her other side. The last boy looked the most glum and serious of the trio. His onyx eyes measured her up carefully and he sat silently as if he was absorbing everything he could into his head. With his raven hair he could certainly be called handsome by someone his age, and Sapphire didn't doubt that he had hordes of fangirls ready at his order. It made her pity him, he didn't seem the kind of guy that would enjoy attention like that.

"Ah now that we are all here…"

"You're late again sensei!"

The sudden shout interrupted Kakashi, and startled her. It came from the yellow haired boy and the pink haired girl, both of whom seemed annoyed at their sensei. They also seemed annoyed by the fact that they shouted at the same time though it seemed to bother the pink haired girl more than the boy. On the other hand, the last boy didn't move an inch, not even when the other two were practically screaming down his ear. He continued to sit there staring blankly at us, though you could see the faintest of scowls on his face.

"Yes I'm afraid that I had to help an old lady on the way here with her shopping. Wouldn't want to leave the poor thing there now would be."

All eyes suddenly turned to Sapphire as if looking for confirmation of the excuse while she simply looked at Kakashi incredulously. What kind of person made excuses about old ladies to explain why he was late? The genin were still waiting for an answer and looking back at them she saw that even the ravenette seemed interested in whether his sensei was telling the truth.

"Don't look at me. I haven't been anywhere near an old lady today, and neither has he since he's stuck with me."

"I knew it! It was just some lame excuse."

"Now calm down Naruto. It's not as if I was late by that much…"

"You left us here waiting for two whole hours!"

"Wait… were late two hours?! What kind of a lazy person are you?"

"Everyone be quiet. I was late because I was busy."

"Yeah, by sleeping.".

A quick glare stopped her from commenting about his tardiness further, although it did cause giggles to erupt from the pink haired girl. She stared from one grown up to the other no doubt already starting to wonder what was between them. It was honestly starting to annoy Sapphire. First the villagers and now the genin she was supposed to be helping train. It was like the entire world itself turned against her.

"Now if you could all introduce yourself, then we can start the lesson."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I love ramen and I'm going to be the next Hokage. You better believe it!"

Sapphire smiled at the young blonde boy who was the first to introduce himself. His goal was certainly a big one but she had a feeling that if anyone could achieve it, it would be him. He definitely had the energy to do so judging from the way he was constantly moving. The next person to step up was the pink haired girl, wearing a big smile on her face. Being the only female, she certainly seemed the most polite of the three, with Naruto shouting in her ear and the third boy still watching her carefully.

"Hi my name is Sakura Haruno. You're really pretty."

"Thank you. You're really pretty too. I bet you have plenty of boys chasing after you."

She blushed a deep crimson before giving the boy next to her another glance. Her infatuation with him seemed to run deep although with the way the boy ignored her. she doubted that the feeling was returned. It was his turn to introduce himself, prompting him to step slightly forward, hands still in his pocket and his cold eyes still observing. He gave no indication to actually start the conversation though forcing her to do it instead.

"And you are…?"

"Sasuke Uchiha"

Sapphire thought for a moment trying to remember why the name seemed familiar before finally remembering. She eyed the boy, taking in his black hair and eyes once again. The book she studied did say that Uchiha's tended to have similar looks along with their famous Sharingan. She felt sudden pity for him remembering that he no longer had a clan, but then realised that she was in a very similar situation. She wondered what it felt like to have had family and lost it so suddenly. At least he had happy memories of them while she had nothing. If this coldness is a result of that tragedy, was it really worth it to regain her own memories? Did she really want to suffer in the same way?

"So you're from the Uchiha clan. I heard that they were very powerful. Have you awakened it yet?"

"No, not yet."

His answer was sharp and short but she could tell that a spark of curiosity appeared in his eye. Clans tended to keep the secrets of their kekki gengi's private so someone who knows about his deceased clan's jutsu so long after their death had to know more. No one stumbled onto information like that by accident. His teammates seemed to have no idea what the two were talking about but by the time they formed a question in their minds to ask, Kakashi had already moved the conversation along.

"Well then now that we all met each other we can start the lesson."

"But Kakashi sensei we still don't know anything about her."

The students looked at her in curiosity, making her consider exactly what to tell them. She wanted to automatically say the truth however Kakashi's presence was ever present and made her conscientious of everything that she said. She couldn't afford to reveal any information at this point, especially since she didn't know whether she could trust them yet, they just seemed too accepting of her.

"My name is Sapphire, and according to your sensei I'm from the ANgel clan which resided here 13 years ago before they were massacred. I have a kekki gengi allowing me to grow physical wings, hence the name of my clan. I'm the one that broke into your village yesterday to steal the sacred scroll however your sensei managed to shoot me down before I could get away. That's about all that you need to know about me. Any questions?"  
The genin stared at her, shocked at the fact that she admitted to trying to steal from the village so willingly, especially since most criminals they heard about always tried to lie to save their reputation. Sasuke was deep in thought at the fact that she was just like him in that both of them lost all of their family in one day. He felt a sudden urge to ask her about how she dealt with it but controlled himself. She didn't remember it anyway, meaning that she didn't know the pain. She was nothing like him. Kakashi on the other hand stood shocked at the fact that she revealed more to his students than she did while being interrogated. Maybe this bonding thing was really a good idea. Unfortunately the shock wore off relatively quickly leaving the genin full of questions with the immense excitement to ask them.

"If you were shot down how come you're just walking around this village?"

"Why did you steal the scroll?"

"Are you really that good of a ninja?"

The barrage of questions startled her, as the village and it's people surprised her again. Instead of rejecting and shunning her like she expected, the genin were curious about her! They really wanted to get to know her despite everything that she did including attacking their village. It made her wonder whether she really could be accepted into the village with open arms like the hokage implied. It certainly seemed true, but was it all really worth it?


	9. Chapter 9-Determination

It took a large amount of time for Kakashi to finally subdue the excited children, but with a little effort and promise of food after training he finally managed. It was a good thing too because Sapphire had no doubt that she would have been injured if they continued, especially since Kakashi barely managed to grab Naruto before he tackled her to the ground, in his mission to have his questions answered first. Instead of letting them get the answers, he decided that he would start the training. It would help get rid of their energy before they got curious again.

"Now we can finally start the session."  
"What are we going to do today? Are we going to practice some awesome jutsus?"

"For now we'll just spar. Sapphire isn't used to training with you yet and she's still sore from the chase yesterday. Besides, we can't work as a team if we don't know much about each other. Sasuke and Naruto will be with me today, you'll be fighting against each other. Sakura, you'll be with Sapphire."

This surprised the new comer. She expected Kakashi to train all of his students and not give her one. She was a wanted criminal for crying out loud, and she was expected to teach her enemy how to fight?

"Wait a minute. You're the sensei here, aren't you supposed to be teaching them everything? Why are you leaving it to me?"

"I told you that I have to keep an eye out for you to make sure you don't try to run for it again. Besides if you want to get your weapons back you're going to have to listen to me, and that includes getting to know other people."

Sapphire groaned but nodded slightly making Kakashi grin. Sakura was definitely the nicest of the team and if anyone could make Sapphire more willing to help him train them, it would be her. Besides allowing her to grow closer to the people of the village would only cause her to grow more bonds, which would hopefully in the future prevent her from trying to flee again. It was a small hope since she didn't trust anyone here, but it was hope nonetheless and that is what he needed at this moment.

"Eh, fine then. Come on Sakura, we'll go somewhere where we'll have some quiet."

"Just stay in my line of sight!"

"I will."

Sapphire walked away from the middle of the clearing, only stopping at the edge of the surrounding forest where a couple of logs were sitting on the lush grass. Sitting down lightly she watched as her small companion followed her example sitting across her. They were far away enough not to hear the shouts of the boys,but at the same time Kakashi could still see if she attempted to escape. Sapphire would have tried either way but she still needed to rest both physically and mentally from her ordeal meaning that possible escape would have to wait.

"So...what exactly are we supposed to do? I've never had genin to teach before."

"Well we only became genin yesterday so I don't really know either. I suppose that we could spar like Naruto and Sasuke are doing."

Sapphire turned her head to look at the boys, watching as they battled it out between them with Kakashi watching. Naruto was very unpredictable which made him a difficult opponent to predict, however that also mean that he was impulsive, a trait that was bound to get him into trouble. On the other hand, Sasuke was very skilled and every single move was calculated, something a ninja rarely had at such a young age. What ruined it was his pride, something you could see in his taunts directed at Naruto's lacks in skill. Looking back at Sakura she noticed that her stares were directed only at Sasuke, not even glancing at Naruto. Sasuke didn't return the look, although Naruto did, his face falling into a frown at the fact that it wasn't him that impressed her.

"You're in love with Sasuke aren't you?"

She didn't have to answer since the crimson blush on her face told the woman everything. She felt sorry for Naruto, one sided love was always hard to deal with, on both sides.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, pretty much. What about Naruto?"

"He's the most annoying person in the world! It's why he hasn't got friends."

"Really not a single one? That must be hard."

"What do you mean?"

"Well from what Kakashi told me he doesn't have any parents means that he has no one he can depend on. No one to help him if he has problems, or even spend time with him. He's all alone."

"I...I never thought about it like that."

"Not many people do."

Silence fell between them, each still thinking about the blonde boy. He just seemed too happy for someone who lost everything. It reminded Sapphire of herself. Always putting an obedient, happy mask while her insides twisted in loneliness and sorrow. At least she was trained to hide emotions, bury them deep within her heart, but what about Naruto? Who was there to teach him to pretend to be so positive?

"Well then, I can't spar with you,because my body is still numb from the fall I suffered yesterday. If I spar now I would only make the situation worse."

"What do you mean by fall? After Shikamaru tried to capture you and failed, we kind of lost sight of you. The next thing we saw was Kakashi sensei already carrying you to the hospital."

"No, it was because of my kekki gengi. Like I said before, it allows me to fly. Your sensei hit me with a kunai when I was in the air."

"Oh wow, you weren't kidding! Can I see them?!"

Sapphire regarded the girl in front of her carefully, taking her question into consideration. Normally she made sure not to show her tricks to the enemy but she supposed that most of the people watching the fight in the village already saw what she could do. Besides she already told them whether kekki gengi could do in her introduction, so she supposed that there couldn't be any harm in showing her.

"I guess so. Just don't tell everybody about it ok? I'd rather like my secrets kept a secret."

"You have my word."

Sapphire sighed before starting to take her tight shirt off. Luckily she had the sense to use some wrapping on her breasts under it, meaning that even if the boys did notice what she was doing they wouldn't see anything that they shouldn't. She would have normally not cared about ripping her clothes, but this time they weren't hers and she didn't want to be rude to a village which was treating her so nicely. She might just end up in prison this time. Placing her hands together she formed the necessary hand signs, allowing the chakra within her to flow towards her back and form the correct shape. Soon enough she felt the weight of the wings on my back, causing her to open her eyes and smile slightly. Sakura had an absolutely awed expression on her face as she gazed at the pair of wings, her fingers itching to touch the silky looking feathers. Relaxing Sapphire allowed the tips of the wings to brush the grass, feeling like the wings were just another extension of her body.

"So what do you think?"

"They are amazing. I never heard of a Kekkei Gengi like this. Your clan was really powerful wasn't it? I can't imagine flying through the air like that. Can you tell me how they work?"

"It's actually pretty simple. I have to gather the chakra and shape it on my back into wings. After that my kekki gengi allows it to solidify and then turn it back into chakra. You could probably do the gathering of chakra but you won't be able to solidify it."

"So your kekki gengi is technically solidifying chakra and the wings are just the shape you chose? Does that mean you can make other things as well?"

"I don't know. As far as I know my clan is deceased so I can't actually ask anyone, although I suppose that the Hokage might have some idea."

A comfortable silence stretched between them as they thought over the notion, neither noticing that the boys stopped fighting and were watching them carefully. Sasuke and Naruto were focused on the unusual sight of wings protruding from someone's back, however Kakashi simply stared at her face. It seemed calculating and curious but at the same time peaceful, as if she belonged in the entire picture. He smiled. It seemed that Sakura had managed to turn her to their side at least in some aspect. He supposed that it was a good beginning, especially when he noticed that the two were conversing like best friends.

"Can...Can I...er?

"Well?"

"Can I touch them?"

Another smile blossomed on Sapphire's face as she noted the girl's nervous expression. This village really was weird. Any time someone saw her wings in the past they uttered names like freak or monster before fleeing. Only one single person touched her wings before and it wasn't because he asked or to admire them. She trembled slightly at the memory but shook it out. This girl seemed nothing like him, seeming only honest, kind, and shy. She didn't seem like any threat but still curiosity remained. Why would she want to touch her wings?

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Well, they just look so soft and beautiful. I wanted to see if they feel like that too."

"Ok then."

"Really!?"

"Of course, just be careful. They are quite sensitive. They may be just chakra but when they solidify they are just like another part of my body, including pain receptors. That's why it hurt so much when your sensei hit one with a kunai especially since he hit one of the main muscles."

She stood up from her log and walked slowly towards her, her hand outstretched slightly. It hesitated mere moments away from the feathers forcing Sapphire to close her eyes in anticipation. Any moment now she would laugh, call her a freak and return back to her sensei. It always happened, and yet every time there was that shred of hope left getting torn into smaller pieces every time she was rejected. this time it was different though. Sapphire almost flinched at the soft touch on her left wing, the hand leaving a lovely sensation. Opening her eyes she saw Sakura smiling once more as she gently stroked them, seeming like an innocent child in that one moment. The calm moment was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps and arguing steadily getting closer. Looking up she noticed the boys approaching them, Naruto practically speeding towards her while Sasuke walked steadily with Kakashi.

"Hey, lady can I touch them as well?"

"Don't be stupid Naruto. You would just break them."

Sapphire frowned as the disappointed look on his face appeared again. It seemed like he was often excluded from things like this and the fact that Sakura was calling him an idiot wasn't helping at all. He seemed to be the kind of person who too everything that was said to heart.

"It's ok Sakura, as long as he is gentle he can touch them."

"Really?!"

The excited grin immediately appeared on his face again as he stretched his arm to touch the left wing with Sakura. A small giggle left his mouth as he touched the soft wings, making him seem the happiest she had ever witnessed him being. If a simple thing like this made him happy then how much did he really have to suffer? A third hand joined in, stroking her other wing and making her head turn in that direction. Sasuke was standing there, his face emotionless as ever, however it was visible to everyone that his body was unnaturally relaxed. The only one who didn't make a move to get closer was Kakashi, but that didn't stop him from staring at her with an unreadable expression. His hand twitched in restrain but he managed to hold it back. He was the one that hurt her, and he wasn't completely sure if she was comfortable with his touch. Carrying her here was one thing, while touching her wings was more intimate, and he wouldn't be able to bear it if she flinched away from him.

"Okay guys I think you had enough, I have to put them away now. They drain a lot of my chakra and I'm still replenishing it from yesterday."

Groans were heard from all three genin at the notice, but their hands were removed quickly allowing her to dissipate her wings. Sighing loudly she stood up slowly, wincing slightly as her bones cracked from the sudden movement. Sitting in the same spot for too long would do that to you especially when using a lot of chakra.

"Well I'm spent. How about we get something to eat?"

"Yeah, let's get some ramen! You're paying, remember sensei?"

The blonde hyperactive haired ninja sped towards the village leaving all of them his dust in his hurry, his two teammates barely following him and throwing insults at him for making them run. Only Kakashi remained at her side as we followed the rambunctious genin, his eyes still on her face, matching his stroll to her leisurely one.

"Could you stop staring at me?"

"Sorry. I didn't realise I was doing it."

"Why were you doing it in the first place?"

"I guess I just missed your face."

Sapphire stopped at his confession giving him a strange look but he simply ignored it and kept walking ahead not concerned in the slightest. Soon enough she got my legs to work again and jogged up to him anger and curiosity building up in her veins like fire.

"What in the world you mean by that?"

He turned to me his eyes blazing with pure determination.

"Look I know you don't like me and you're probably already looking for a way out, however I'm not going to let you go again. I lost you once and I'm not going to do it again. I'm going to bring back your memory back even if it kills me."

With that said he turned around and started walking again leaving her in the dust thoughts swirling around in her mind as one big mess. This time though it took her a while to follow as she mulled over what he said. She really didn't want to believe him but the pure determination in his voice destroyed any thoughts of not trusting him. Why would someone who saw her as an enemy be so determined to help her regain her memories? For some reason his attention seemed to be stuck on her, and looking deep inside, she really didn't seem to mind.


	10. Chapter 10-Sasuke

Soon enough they reached a small shop in the town centre. There was only a couple of seats in front of the counter but all of them seemed empty, most likely due to the fact that many of the other teams would be still training. Naruto couldn't seem to stop talking about all of the ramen he wanted, although a harsh hit from Sakura quickly stopped him going from anywhere further. Sapphire could see the smile on the shopkeeper's face though and she knew that he appreciated the comments. A small conversation started between the genin and Sapphire about her abilities and skills leaving Kakashi alone for the time being to eat his meal in peace. Normally his genin would have been trying to peek at him face but today they were distracted enough not to care about it, while Sapphire seemed to respect his privacy enough not to look which was thoughtful of her. He watched as she interacted with the three genin, even Sasuke who seemed to be the one that asked the most questions about her abilities. She was clearly bonding with them judging by the small smile on her face which was definitely a good thing. He hoped that she wouldn't require him as a guard soon enough although he couldn't deny that he liked the time they spent together despite its short amount. Her attitude had changed drastically from her arrival, enough to surprise Kakashi that there hasn't been a single escape attempt on her part.

It didn't take them long to finish eating and by then the sky had already darkened, and the various lanterns littering the roads to be lit. Seeing how late it was the team went on its way, each heading in a different direction. Sapphire stared at Sasuke's back sadly watching as he disappeared into the darkness, hands in his pocket in his usual stance. It was clear to him that she was thinking about his past and how similar it was to what we explained about hers. He attempted to bring her out of her sad thoughts by making conversation but it didn't seem to go as planned.

"So how did you like my team?"

"They were a little annoying at first, but they all seem good kids at heart."

Silence enveloped them again as they approached the apartment complex, something that he was trying to avoid right from the start. Her face had an unreadable look and it made his curious as to just what she was thinking about. Why was it always so hard to figure her out? Fortunately the silence didn't last long, and this time he wasn't the one to break it.

"Why is everyone here so nice to me? I attacked your village, stole your scroll, it just doesn't make sense to me."

"It's the way this village just is, besides many of the senseis used to go to the academy with us. They remember you even if you don't remember them."

"Why do you keep insisting that I used to live here? How am I supposed to know that you're not just lying to me?!"

"Think about it. If you were anyone else you would be sitting in a cell right now and not wandering around the village with just one guard. You don't have anything we need to bargain with. We could have easily given you over to Suna and yet you're still here. At least try to get to know everyone, you never know you might like it here, even if we can't get your memories back."

She refused to look in his eyes and made no more attempts to start up the conversation despite the many attempts on Kakashi's side. By the time they reached Kakashi's flat he was almost convinced that she hated him for his constant pressing. maybe he should have been more gentle with her? Then again holding her against her will while she was being tortured and making sure that she didn't escape the village wasn't exactly counting in his favour. He looked at her one last time and when he didn't get a response he sighed and turned to walk into his bedroom and think his strategy over. He was suddenly brought to a halt though as a pair of small arms wrapped around him from behind and a small body pressed against him back, his shirt getting wet from the tears that were no doubt falling from her eyes. Kakashi's body stiffened slightly from the unexpected contact but relaxed just as quickly. His arms reached around to hold her before twisting and bringing her into his chest into a warm hug, the move causing another flood of tears to fall out of her orbs.

Kakashi felt guilty but he couldn't help to press her harder against himself, craving more of the pleasurable tingles that were surging through his body at the contact. It had been so long since he held her like this that he made sure to take advantage of it for as long as he could. There may not be another chance ever again. Her soft and wavering voice brought him out of his daydreams, his shirt muffling it slightly.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For caring. No one's done that for quite a while."

Kakashi stilled at the confession before pulling her away from his chest enough to look her directly in her eyes and wipe away the remainder of her tears with his thumb. he could clearly see the pain and longing that she tried to keep hidden from everyone almost as if scared that she would be hurt again. The urge to kiss away the pain was indescribable but he pushed it aside for now, determined not to take advantage of her emotional state.

"You're surrounded by people that care now. You're not going to be alone ever again."

Seeing the tears pool up in her eyes again he brought her back into his chest and attempted to calm the sobs and shakes that wracked through her body. Moving backwards he reached the small couch occupying the living room and sat down on it bringing her along. That's how they spent the rest of the night, just sitting curled up on the couch him letting her cry out all of the emotions that she bottled up within herself. Despite the situation Kakashi couldn't stop the small smile that grace his lips as he cradled her in silence. It made him feel like there was still hope and every shred of it was worth more than anything that he owned. he meant what he said before. She would never have to be alone again.

The next day Kakashi took her out again to once again spend time with team 7. There wasn't a single mention of what occurred the night before and Sapphire was grateful for Kakashi's silence. She spent hours after it beating herself up over the fact that she let the enemy see her at her weakest and feared that he would use it against her, but Kakashi was nothing short of understanding. Like any other day he made her breakfast and tried to make small talk, almost as if attempting to make this day as normal as he could. She could see the concern shining through his eyes though and sparks of happiness though exactly what caused it she couldn't tell. The trust was also clearly visible through the statement that he returned her weapons to her, including the twin daggers and her sword, effectively removing any queries she might have had about not leaving, and yet she still didn't use it. It made her wonder what managed to change her so much in one day, although her thoughts always returned to the same person.

Today it was Sasuke's turn to spend time with her, though she really couldn't say whether he was glad about it or angry. His emotionless face was tough to read even for her. Kakashi seemed to trust her more now since he took the rest of the team into the forest, far away from the place where she and Sasuke sat on the grass much like she did with Sakura yesterday. The first five minutes after kakashi left was spent by just observing each other, not a single word spoken. Eventually Sapphire had enough of the silent student and broke the silence, in an attempt of understand him.

"Tell me about yourself."

"And why should I?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

A look of surprise flashed across his visage before returning to it's stone cold expression once again. She could see that he was considering it though, his eyes analysing her once again stopping shortly at her bracelet before going back up to her eyes.

"You're a mystery youself. There are things you haven't even told Kakashi sensei aren't there?"

Sapphire's eyes hardened as she sensed just what he was aiming at. His personal information for hers, a fair trade in his eyes no doubt though the value was different in her eyes. Could she really trust Sasuke, someone she had no knowledge about when she couldn't even tell Kakashi anything?

"Yes there are. Why do you want to know?"

"I'll make you a deal. You tell me about yourself and I'll tell you about what happened to me."  
"I can give you a better deal. You tell me about yourself and I can teach you anything you want, within limits of course."

He seemed to consider the proposition carefully, his eyes straying toward the sword strapped to her back clearly giving away exactly what he would like to learn. She grinned before reaching behind her to unclasp the sword from her back and bring it into her lap complete with the sheath. The sheath was a simple gray colour with no recognisable designs. It's flat blade allowed for quick and precise strikes something that seemed to fit into the fighting style of the boy before her.

"My offer does extend to the use of this word you know."

"Tch, fine."

"I suppose you should start with the introduction."

He glared at me slightly before starting his story, the hate he held for his brother clear in both his stiff posture and the hardened gaze he fixed on the grass between them. He described the blood and bodies he saw sending her mind reeling. Similar images flashed before her eyes, the feeling of a sticky liquid covering her from head to foot almost making her retch right there and then had Sasuke not stopped and shook her slightly out of her thoughts. A worried look was stretched across his face making her look at him in surprise. It was the first real emotion she had seen so visibly on his face.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah just flashbacks."

"Does that mean you're remembering things from your past? kakashi sensei said that you couldn't remember much."

"I'm not sure, but with what I've just seen I'm not so confident that I want to remember anymore."

He nodded in understanding but stayed quiet allowing her time to compose herself again before listening to the rest of her story and what he plans on doing to his so called older brother. The tone of hatred burning through his voice worried her, but she couldn't say that she blamed him. She at least had the pleasure of whatever the horrors plaguing her past were, while he was forced to endure them at such a young age with no one to support him. When he finished his story they sat for a while under the shade of one of the trees allowing the peaceful atmosphere around them to relax their tense muscles and let their minds drift. Eventually Sapphire sighed and got up.

"Come on kid. If we want you to learn something, we better starts practicing before Kakashi calls a break again."

He gaped at her in surprise before smirking and lightly standing up. The rest of the day was used to teach Sasuke the correct stance and even a few simple strikes since the boy was quite talented when it came to this weapon. His style fit the fast paced blade and his speed was already quite good enough to use it effectively against easier opponents. More than that though, he seemed to be enjoying using the weapon, each strike. Whereas most would swing it about and even hit it the first time they used a sword, Sasuke made sure to not get a single scratch caring for the sword as if it was precious. She liked that in a person, one of the rare traits that characterised a true swordsman.

The sun was already close to disappearing into the growing darkness when Kakashi and the others finally showed up to call an end to their training. They would not have tomorrow to include a similar training regiment due to missions being assigned to them, however that didn't seem to faze either of them. Sasuke had already managed to memorise many of the simpler moves with the aptitude of a true prodigy. Besides she had no doubt that he would continue practicing them whenever he could. What truly made her happy though was the bright smile that would appear on his face whenever he managed to learn another move, the compliments she was brimming with only helping it to surface further. It was a truly wonderful sight to see even if she was the only one. It gave her hope not just for the boy in front of her but also for herself and what the future had in store for us. If sasuke could go through so much and still be a good person then maybe so could she. If only she knew what was in store for her. Not every story has a happy ending after all.


	11. Chapter 11-The truth

The next few weeks were filled with low ranking missions and more training with Sasuke and the others. It gave Sapphire the time and need to meet new people in the village and make more friends especially when Kakashi and Team 7 went to a mission in the Land of the Waves which lasted several weeks, leaving her instead in the care of Kurenai also a sensei and an experienced genjutsu user. The women became fast friends over the course of Team 7's mission, even going as far to have friendly spars or teaching Kurenai's students together. It was a refreshing feeling for her, especially since the things they did like shopping or gossiping were never a possibility for her before, a concept Kurenai seemed horrified with. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed so much as when Team 7 returned and saw her in a dress for the first time, something she abhorrently refused before.

Kakashi also did his best to get closer to her, doing his best to help her memories return to her in high hopes that she would remember him. He took her to visit some of her favourite places, many of which were hidden away from sight. One of her favourites was a small clearing hidden deep in the forest beside a small creek where a wide variety of animals ranging from small to large preferred to graze. It had been truly a beautiful sight, but despite that it did not bring any more revelations just like her favourite restaurant or the training field that she spent the most time in. The only place she refused to go in what her old clan ground, the stench of blood still lingering in the air despite the years that passed by. She could see Kakashi's hope slowly decreasing with every place that failed to help her in any way. The bags under his eyes were proof enough that he wasn't getting enough sleep and she even suspected that he was having nightmares. Whenever she woke up early Kakashi was already up seeming like he has been for a long time. Despite what he might have thought though, she found herself growing closer to him, going as far to trust him in many things. She still refused to tell him everything that happened to her but she couldn't deny that she had grown used to him being everywhere she went, always being there to help her train or carry the grocery shopping home.

Kakashi and Kurenai weren't the only ones who she grew closer though. Training Team 7 had also become a fixed part of her life, the three teenagers doing their best to make laugh at least once every day. Sakura was the one Sapphire could turn to when it concerned womanly things that she wasn't too versed in. That included her growing fondness of Kakashi which Sakura took in with magnanimous squeals of excitement. It took hours of begging from the normally collected woman to make her promise that nothing would slip out. In return for Sakura's advice, Sapphire helped her to act more like herself around Sasuke, although it took a while before she was able to watch the teen without swooning over every single thing he did. Naruto was definitely the easiest to befriend, his naturally cheerful nature proving to be a very useful thing. It turned out that all he needed was someone to pay attention to him and all of his annoying quirks would quickly be dismissed. The boy had been ignored for practically all his life, so it didn't really surprise her when he had so much to tell her. Sasuke had been the hardest to befriend, his tough outer shell stopping her every attempt to get to know him. The development of their relationship took much longer than with Naruto or Sakura but the extra sword lessons definitely helped in that case. Eventually he started to confide in her about what he really felt and that was the ground breaking point that she had been aiming for. Everyone seemed to notice his drastic change of behaviour when he was around her, causing his fangirls to disturb them often during their sessions in an attempt to gleam that different side and pretend that it was directed at them.

All those thought swivelled around her mind like bees while she was cooking dinner, making her sigh in frustration. How was she supposed to leave now that she had made so many connections? She wanted to flee as fast as she could yet her body refused to run from the only people that ever showed her a normal life filled with friends and hope. She would never receive that anywhere else, but that is what she feared the most. Her past was going to catch up to her soon enough and when that happened everyone would be in danger. Could she really put all the people she cared about at risk? Make them suffer the same fate she had for most of her life?

"What's with the sigh?"

The voice from behind made her jump in fright, her breathing erratic when she finally came to face with Kakshi. She didn't expect him so soon from his mission, and definitely not so quiet. She glared at him with a scowl on her face as she regarded the large grin that sat smugly on his face. It seemed that his favourite pastime recently had become scaring the wits out of her. He always just grinned at her reaction and read that perverted orange book of his like nothing happened. She tried everything to make him stop, but her desperation only seemed to entertain him even further.

"Nothing just thinking some things through. Could you stop scaring me like that? You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"Like what?"

He ignored her question, asking one of his own straight away while watching her face carefully. It took a second for her to realise just what he was asking about. When she finally did the cold look that Kakashi hated so much returned to her face. This was what happened everytime he tried pressing her for answers up to the point where he already knew her answer. Kakashi was getting impatient and he was worried that if she didn't give a real answer soon, he would force to tell the truth.

"Kakashi, please just leave it. It's nothing you have to worry about."

Sapphire had half hoped that he would leave it at that and stop questioning her, but in her heart she knew better. That determined look was back in him eyes as he stalked closer, making her back up until her back hit the stove she was cooking just minutes ago. His hand reached out behind her and turned the small flame off, removing the only excuse she might have had of not getting involved in the conversation that was soon to follow. She tried to turn her head away from his expectant face but he refused to acknowledge it, going as far as physically turning her head back towards him with a hand on her chin. His other hand was wrapped around her waist holding her strongly against his hard chest, refusing to allow her even the slightest chance of escape. She looked towards the open door to her room, but was painfully aware that she would never reach them in time. Kakashi was much faster than her and he seemed to be able to predict all of her moves. There was no hope.

"I want to help you but I can't do that if you don't tell me the entire truth. You can't keep doing this to yourself. We can help you. Don't push me away."

His words hung in the heavily in the air, Sapphire not making the slightest movement to signify that she was going to answer it. Kakashi knew that there was something important holding her back, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. She heard him sigh against her hair before placing his chin gently on top of her head, almost as if he was at the end of all of his ideas.

"How about this, you will tell me everything that happened and I will tell you something about myself too. Sasuke said that you did something similar with him. It seems fair."

"What would you tell me?"

"You get to choose what you want to know. Anything."

Sapphire thought for a moment, her mind darting from one idea to the next not quite sure about what she should ask about. Eventually she settled on one thing. Pushing herself slightly from his chest, she looked cautiously into his eyes.

"WIll you show me your face?"

The hesitation was clearly visible on his face as he contemplated her question. He was used to hiding his face from everyone so it seemed almost uncomfortable for him to do as she asked, yet at the same time he realised that this might be the only chance he had to find out the truth. He nodded his head slightly, his body gently guiding hers towards the couch that lay in the centre of the living room. The two sat down on it, distance separating them now that Kakashi finally released her from his grip, but still staying close almost as if she was looking for his comfort. His expectant face directed her to go first, which she did with slight hesitation.

"I...I guess the first thing I remember was the excruciating pain on my stomach and the darkness that surrounded me. I started panicking because I didn't remember anything, including how I got the wound my age or even my own name. Nothing seemed to come back to me. I didn't know where I was but it was small and cold. They kept me there for a couple of weeks, only to bandage my stomach or bring me food from time to time. Eventually when I healed fully a man came into the room and dragged me outside since I was too weak to walk."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

"I could never forget. He had long black hair and eyes like bottomless pits. He always wore a black cloak too almost as if he was hiding something."

The look of recognition on Kakashi's face was enough to tell her that the two had met before. His fists were clenched in anger up to the point where they were going white. His body shook slightly and it took a while before he could calm down again. Sapphire placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, his entire being leaning gently into her touch. He took a couple of deep breaths before motioning for her to continue, not quite willing to reveal why he reacted the way that he did.

"The next few years were filled with training. First he made show him all of the jutsus that I knew, and then he told me to show him my kekki gengi. I couldn't release it then since I was still too young but he still got mad. He started hitting me until I lay on the floor almost bleeding out. The next day he forced me to battle him, ignoring the fact that I was still wounded. That continued for a couple of weeks until he was satisfied with my skill. Then he tried to teach me new jutsu and genjutsu. I would receive a beating every time I couldn't manage to learn it within an hour. He tended to put me in a genjutsu and leave me there for days even until I finally managed to escape it. I was 20 by the time I finally managed to escape, and even then I barely managed to do it. he had a lot of men with him. I almost died."

By the time she stopped talking, hidden tears were pushing themselves out of her eyes, a silent sob escaping her when she felt the droplets start falling down her pale face. It was enough for Kakashi to break the space between them and bring her into his chest in an attempt to support her through her memories. He never imagined that her past would be so bad, the truth only increasing the overwhelming guilt that plagued his heart. He could tell however that there was a part of the story that she wasn't telling him. He didn't want to push her in the condition she was in, but he was desperate to find out as much as he could before she shut him out again.

"There's something else too isn't there."

Her only answer was to bury her head further into his chest almost making him back off, but his need to know the truth and help her won over the part of him that was sending out warning calls not to push her.

"Sapphire, you need to tell me. I can't help you if I don't know."

"He...he started getting old and he was worried that he didn't have an heir. I was 20 the perfect age to give him a son."

"Did he…"

"No, but almost."

Her body wracked with another sob causing her words to slur. Kakashi could feel the hatred he felt for the mystery man only growing further up to the point where he could barely contain himself from storming out of the village and looking for him. He could already imagine the things he would do to him, but not yet. He couldn't leave Sapphire alone in this state.

"But if you got away then why are you stealing village scrolls?"

"He found me about a year later and I barely managed to get away from him alive. I wasn't strong enough to battle him at my current level and what village would help me, a woman who had no idea who she was? It was the only option I could take at that moment. If I got stronger then maybe I…"

"You would finally be able to beat him and be free."

She nodded before wiping the remainder of the tears off her face. Kakashi's shirt was soaked through in the spot her face lay moments ago but he didn't seem to bothered about it. His eyes were instead trained on hers as if trying to discern how to help her. They held a multitude of anger although there was even more guilt. He was blaming himself for what happened to her, and although she didn't know why it only made her trust him more. That look was slowly beginning to break down the barriers she erected in order to stop crying, causing her to quickly change the subject to prevent that from happening.

"Will you show me your face now?"

"I guess that a deal is a deal."

She watched as he slowly reached up to the edge of the mask and started pulling it down inch by inch, his eyes gauging her reaction carefully. Sapphire couldn't pull her eyes away from his fingers, the slow pace at which he was pulling the mask down almost frustrating her to the point where she did it herself. His face was flawless, with not a single flaw marring his face. His hands reached up to his headband as well, pushing it up to reveal his slightly open sharingan eye. She had heard about it but had never seen it in real life, something he seemed to remember. her focus was so absorbed in taking in his face that she didn't realise that he was getting closer until their lips were barely inches apart, his eyes making her feel like she was drowning in them. Her eyes glanced down to his own full lips before darting back towards his orbs, a sign he seemed to take as permission. His warm lips quickly descended onto her own, making her eyes close in pleasure. There were no sparks or fireworks, just a feeling of absolute warmth and safety, something she craved since she could remember. The kiss got rough and Kakashi pushed her onto the couch in desperation to bring her body closer into his.

In the end it was the oxygen that forced them apart, their panting being the only sound in the silent room. Their eyes couldn't seem to stray from each other and Kakashi pressed his lips back onto hers, only this time it was calmer filled with caring and hope. Sapphire wondered briefly how this would affect their relationship, but the thoughts were quickly dispersed. For now she would allow herself to live in the moment. The consequences could wait. One thing she was sure about though, Kakashi was a brilliant kisser.


	12. Chapter 12-Goodbye

The two of them breathed heavily gazing into each other's eyes. Neither knew what to do next, and neither wanted to confront the tense atmosphere that surrounded them. Sapphire was pressed against Kakashi's chest, her hands tangled in his shirt their foreheads touching. The kiss was exhilarating, but only now where the consequences of it reaching her mind. The fears that she kept hidden for so long finally burst from the dam she built up, causing a single tear to drop down her cheek. Kakashi panicked at the sight not quite sure what he did to upset her so much. He reached up with his hand to wipe the offending liquid away but the sudden movement caused Sapphire to bolt out of his grip and stop at the other side of the room. He stood up after her, his arms feeling empty and cold without her warmth. Her soft voice broke the silence, the clear lack of confidence hidden within making Kakashi wince.

"I shouldn't be doing this with you."

"No you probably shouldn't."

"Then why I am doing it?"

The question hung in the air, but the man standing behind her couldn't seem to find an answer. Her thought wavered as images of Kakashi and all of the people she grew to care about laying on the floor, their bodies mangled beyond recognition. That's what he would do to them when he found her again. That man hated when something of his was taken away, and that was exactly what she was, his possession. She sighed in agitation, continuously coming up with worse and worse scenarios. She had to leave. She had grown too close to the people in the village and now they were at risk as well. Her slow journey towards her designated room was stopped when two muscled arms wrapped around her waist and captured her in a strong hold. She didn't have to turn around to know just who was behind her, especially since this situation was very familiar to her.

"No."

The single word surprised her, her eyes meeting his for the upteenth time as she twisted around in his grip to face him. His eyes held more determination and anger then she had ever seen, and it made a fearful shudder run through her body, not knowing whether it was directed at her or not. His grip became vice like almost to the point where he was hurting her. Seeing the pain on her face he released her quickly, but his hands remained on her shoulders holding her in place.

"I know you well enough to know what you're thinking. I'm not letting you go, and neither will the village, and especially Team 7. You've become like family to them."

"What kind of person leads their family to certain death? I'm putting you all in danger especially now that you know what happened and the feelings I've developed for you. The news will spread fast and it will not make him pleased. He let me run from him to his amusement, but the moment that he finds out about us that amusement will turn into fury and he will come for me. He will kill anyone in his way. I have to leave, I can't put you all at risk!"

"We won't let you fight him alone. you're safe here."

The single tear now turned into a waterfall as Sapphire let the words sink in. She wanted to leave this village so badly especially now that she was putting them all in danger, but after Kakashi's last words she knew that she wouldn't be able to bring herself to do it. For the first time in what seemed her whole life, she had a family, someone that cared for her and loved her. To a person who never experienced this before it was truly a touching thing. It seemed that Kakashi understood what was going through her mind as he brought her back into his comforting embrace, letting her cry out her emotions. They stayed that way for most of the night until Sapphire's tears went dry and she fell asleep from exhaustion, Kakashi following soon after.

The next week was tense but with each day that nothing happened, Sapphire started relaxing and slowly returning to her old self. Team 7 was ecstatic to learn about her relationship with Kakashi, constantly asking about a wedding and children. It was something that Kakashi had always wanted with her but he didn't dare to push her too far in the fear of losing her. He barely managed to persuade her to date him, and would hate himself for the rest of his life if he messed it up. There was also the lack of her emotions, making Kakashi feel like he would be taking advantage of Sapphire with her not knowing everything that happened to her. For all he knew she could hate him for letting her get taken away and he didn't want to upset her further. It was one of the reasons why he and Sapphire had not yet consumed their relationship. She admitted to him that she wasn't ready and he accepted that. He waited for so long, he could wait a little bit more.

The peace didn't last long though, not for Sapphire. It was a week after their relationship started, when she finally received the warning that she had been dreading. Sapphire and Kakashi had just returned from an exhausting training session with their team, each retiring to their own bedroom to rest. The first thing that aroused her suspicions was the window that stood slightly ajar letting in a cold breeze into the room and causing her to shiver. She was sure that the window was closed when she left the house. She was about to dismiss it as her nerves, when the unmistakable stench of fresh blood hit her nose, the metallic taste making her want to puke. Her eyes finally rested on a crimzon rose laying on her bed, like a gruesome reminder of the person she had been trying to forget for as long as she could remember. The startling white rose was now dripping with fresh, thick blood, something that couldn't have been there for longer that a couple of minutes. The implication that he was here, that he was so close to her terrified her. She was starting to think that he finally left her alone. She shouldn't have tried lying to herself. He would never stop, never.

That night was spent sleepless with fears and tears, alone in the corner of her room, while doing her best not to look at the item on her bed. It was the first time she got up earlier than Kakashi, making sure that all of her items were securely packed and the doors firmly closed. She couldn't risk Kakashi discovering the 'gift' and figuring out her plan to run. She could feel their bond growing, and that was the very reason that she had to leave. If he managed to place the rose on her bed, then it wouldn't take him long to figure out who she cared for and use them against her. Only a few of the items remained where they were. Her sword was a gift for Sasuke, as he seemed the perfect person to treat it with respect. She could see the emotional turmoil when he received it, his barrier finally breaking down causing him to pull her into a hug. The action startled her, but it also caused her more guilt. Sasuke didn't take down his defences for anyone in fear of being hurt again and that was exactly what was going to happen. Sakura received a scroll where Sapphire noted down some of her favourite and useful jutsus she came across. Sakura being the bookworm of the group appreciated the gift, although Sapphire concluded that it was mainly to impress Sasuke with her skills. Naruto was the easiest of the group to present with something. All she had to do was pay off a month worth of ramen for him, though it did deplete her pockets majorly and faith in him. He burst into tears upon hearing that she believed that he would someday become Hokage, especially since she seemed to be the only person to give him that.

She would miss these kids, even if she did know them for just a month. Kakashi was right. There was something in this village that drew people to it, and it was so hard for her to leave. She liked to fantasize that one day she might return, and that she could have a nice life among friends, but the rational part of her brain remained her the impossibility of that dream. He would always be after her, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

The goodbye she had planned out for Kakashi was very different from the gifts she had given the rest of team seven. He had spent his entire time on showing her how to care for others again, not stopping even when she screamed or rebelled. She had put him through so much, including her inability to remember him. He hid the pain well, but she could see it in his eyes every time he looked at her, almost as if his whole world was collapsing around him. Ever since they started their relationship, he became very protective of her, going as far to checking up on her every night in fear that she would disappear once again, just when he got her back. The knowledge that she was about to shatter him again almost caused her to rethink her decision, almost. She wanted to show him just how much she loved him, and that all of her feelings were real all this time.

The opportunity appeared when the two of them were resting in the living room, both of their muscles tense from an energetic training session with his students. Her hand reached up to gently trace his face through the mask before pulling it down slowly. His gray eyes opened to look at her, but quickly close again when her mouth descended onto his, the heat rapidly covering her entire body. The atmosphere grew heated as Kakashi pulled her into his lap and deepened the kiss. The passion and love hidden within almost made her faint right there. He broke the kiss to take deep breaths but didn't waste any time before going back in, trailing hot kisses down her neck while looking for her weak spot. The feeling was absolutely blissful, as he held her in such a way, her hand running through his silver hair. Soon enough the feeling wasn't enough and in an act of desperate need Kakashi pinned her to the couch beneath him, his lips hovering only inches above hers, and eyes full of deep longing and love.

"If you don't stop me now, I won't be able to hold back much longer, not in a position like this."

His heart constricted excitedly at the sight of her laying beneath him, her laboured breaths delicately tracing the contours of his face.

"Kakashi I don't want you to hold back anymore, I need you."

"Are you sure? I don't want to take advantage of you, especially since you haven't regained your memories yet."

Sapphire struggled to find a way to convey her full feeling to him without rambling. She looked up into his gentle eyes and the look of absolute hope and care gave her the exact words she was looking for. He hand reached up to cup his face, bringing it down for a slow and romantic kiss.

"I love you Kakashi, and nothing could ever change that fact."

He stiffened slightly in shock at the confession, before an ecstatic smile appeared on his lips, not waiting for her to finish talking before capturing her lips again. He had always dreamed of those words but had never expected them to come true. A part of his mind was questioning the timing, but he pushed it aside desperate to feel her love and express his own.

"And I love you more than you could imagine. You might want to take this more comfortable. I want it to be special for the both of us."

His hands slid from her waist and moved beneath her in order to pick her up, cradling her to his chest. That night was filled with passion and expressions of love in the most intimate of ways. She had given everything to him that day, and yet she was also about to take everything back. Sliding out of his warm embrace she slid out of the room and got ready for the journey ahead of her. She wanted to take the bloody rose, but instead she place it in Kakashi's room with a short letter. She was desperate to show him that this night meant more to her than anything else before, and that if she could she would have gladly stayed at his side for the rest of their lives, even if she never truly remembered everything. Placing one last kiss on his lips she slipped out into the dead of the night hoping that he could find happiness without her, he definitely deserved it. She walked on, ignoring the tears streaming down her face, leaving behind the only man she ever loved and will ever love.


	13. Sequel

Ok the sequel is posted so read it and tell me what you think. I'll try to update at least once a week if possible but I'm also going to make all of the chapters slightly longer so they might be late on some days. The sequel is called Sapphire Angel and you can find it on my profile under my stories. Enjoy. :D


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